ATSSA congratulates Rep. Eric A. “Rick” Crawford, R-Ark., on his selection as chair of the House Subcommittee on Highways and Transit.

“We look forward to working with six-term Congressman Crawford in his new role as chair of this important subcommittee,” ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner said. “Chair Crawford is a veteran of the subcommittee and we look forward to partnering with him in support of the vital work of the roadway safety infrastructure industry and advancing roadway safety across the country. In his new role, Chair Crawford can help save lives on the nation’s roadways.”

Crawford issued the following statement regarding his selection as chair and the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA), which became law in November 2021.

“An efficient and safe highway system is critical to America’s competitiveness in the global economy and a vital component of our national security,” he said. “I look forward to providing vigorous oversight of IIJA to ensure that those funds are spent on projects that are priorities for states and local government.”

What issues are front of mind as ATSSA members contemplate 2023? What variables are being used to gauge how things will go in the long-term? What opportunities are on the horizon that are building excitement?

ATSSA asked four members who are leaders in different segments of the roadway safety infrastructure industry for their views on those questions and more for the Winter issue of Roadway Safety magazine, which is online today. Read what they had to say and see how their views compare to your own.

The Winter issue also explores rural road safety solutions, the importance of keeping workers from being distracted on the job, where wider pavement markings are being utilized and much more.

ATSSA joined 17 organizations today in asking Federal Highway Administration Administrator Shailen Bhatt to rescind the “Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources to Build a Better America” memorandum that was issued Dec. 16, 2021.

The groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, noted they supported the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA) passed in November 2021 and that it was a “carefully negotiated and balanced package of policy reforms and targeted national investments” to make the lives of Americans better.

The issue leading to the request for the policy to be rescinded was that the Dec. 16 memo “elicited significant confusion within the transportation community.” Further, the letter states that the memo was “intended to serve as an overarching policy framework that prioritizes IIJA resources towards certain projects, which was inconsistent with what was laid out under the legislation President Biden signed into law the month before.”

ATSSA congratulates Rep. Sam Graves (R-Mo.) on being chosen to chair the Transportation and Infrastructure (T&I) Committee in the 118^th Congress.

“ATSSA members have counted Chairman Graves as a roadway safety leader throughout his tenure on the T&I Committee and we look forward to his continued emphasis on this critical issue now that he is chair,” ATSSA President & CEO Stacy Tetschner said. “We are eager to work with him and his committee staff in the months and years ahead to ensure that roadway safety remains the top priority for Congress and the Biden administration.”

Graves’ selection was announced by the committee today. He confirmed his priority for roadway safety and infrastructure in his comments included with the announcement.

ATSSA joined nine groups in releasing a statement today reaffirming support for the rapid, widespread deployment of vehicle-to-everything (V2X) technologies to further improve safety on American roads.

V2X allows communication between vehicles, infrastructure and other road users such as pedestrians and bicyclists and provides drivers with crucial warnings necessary to improve safety.

"We believe that 2023 will be a pivotal year for V2X deployment. Transportation stakeholders have aligned behind one V2X technology, cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X), clearing the way for a unified, nationwide approach to the deployment of this tool," the statement says.