Asphalt shortage delaying CDOT projects statewide
Aspen Daily News - July 15, 2008

A shortage of high-grade asphalt is hammering the state transportation department, forcing crews to delay or revamp nearly three dozen road projects around the state, including one on Highway 82 at Basalt.

The shortage is so severe, it means almost no asphalt at all that meets the grade for CDOT road projects.

“When you say a shortage, it’s a shortage that’s gone to zero,” Gould said.

How well does MDSS work on dirt?

Concrete replacing asphalt as oil prices continue to rise
St. Louis Post-Dispatch - July 10, 2008

Long considered the pricier option for road and parking lot construction, concrete now is competing with petroleum-based asphalt — and winning.

Last year, St. Louis County paid $39 a ton for delivered asphalt. An increase last week pushed the price to $59 a ton.

Meanwhile, the price of a yard of concrete — which equals about two tons of asphalt — averaged about $75 over the last year.

If the trend continues most road maintenance and construction will be concrete or dirt. The plus side with concrete is it is more environmentally friendly as it produces less urban heat island and less superheated runoff killing trout streams. The downside is snow doesn't melt so quickly on the stuff. Rising construction costs combined with falling tax revenue from decreased fuel use is burning the candle from both ends for transit budgets. This point continued below.

U.S. highway trust fund veers toward crisis
Los Angeles Times - July 21, 2008

Highway trust fund receipts were down more than $2 billion through May compared with the same period a year ago, a Treasury Department report said.

The shortfall was projected at $3.2 billion this year, but it is expected to be higher when the White House budget office issues a revised estimate this month.

Murray said: "Without a fix soon, we could face having to cut all federal highway funds by a third simply to keep the trust fund solvent.

Perhaps a gas tax increase is in order but you have to enjoy the political theater with this. What's it going to be; more taxes, less projects, or more deficit spending?...

Lawmakers from both parties are eager to find a way to fund politically popular transportation projects. But one possible solution -- an increase in the gas tax, which was last raised in 1993 -- is considered unrealistic in an election year.

The shortfall was a major reason that Republican presidential candidate John McCain's proposal for a gas tax holiday to ease the public's pain at the pump faced bipartisan congressional resistance.

President Bush proposed shifting cash from mass transit to highways, which ran into opposition in Congress because commuters are increasingly turning to bus and rail lines because gas costs too much.

A proposal to shift $8 billion from the general fund to the highway trust fund has considerable support in the Senate. But it faces opposition from a number of Republicans who say it would trade one problem for another by deepening the federal budget deficit.

On a related note, what will the road funding structure look like as gasoline use transitions into compressed natural gas, electric, and hydrogen power?

Some states may also eventually curtail some snow moving operations as diesel fuel costs escalate and budgets get slashed. The latter was the cause in 2003...

Snow may not get plowed because of budget slashing
USA Today - October 13, 2003

A city's often-unheralded public works department, responsible for snow removal, leaf pickup and pothole repair, frequently proves to be an irresistible target for the budget ax.

"In most places, if there have to be cuts made, it will usually be in public works, because it won't be police or fire," says Ann Daniels, technical services director for the American Public Works Association, a 27,000-member professional group. "This is hitting small cities just like it's hitting the big ones."

The silver lining would have to be so long as road maintenance forecast services provide a net cost savings for the the states and drivers demand clear roads then persons working in this specialized field will still have jobs. I suspect the DoTs will however be scrutinizing forecasts even more than ever (Mason City to the third power, agghh!). Salt is costing more and the diesel in DoT equipment is costing more. The result is a busted forecast will have far greater financial consequence than it did in the past.

Cheers,
Justin T