In the News...

Road to Jobs Leads Through … Road Fixes?

Monday, May 24 2010

The Denver Daily News
By: Peter Marcus
May 20th, 2010

A union of construction workers held a news conference in Denver yesterday calling on the U.S. Senate to back a $450 billion investment into infrastructure.

The group, the Laborers’ International Union of North America (LIUNA), pointed to dozens of structurally deficient bridges and crumbling roads in Colorado as an example of the need to invest in infrastructure and create jobs in the process.

The union yesterday launched a campaign beside the structurally deficient Sixth Avenue bridge over Bryant Street. The campaign will include a billboard at the site of the bridge, highlighting a need for infrastructure funding.

The Build Colorado 2010 campaign, which is expected to go national with the Build America 2010 campaign, aims at developing support for federal transportation and infrastructure funding legislation.

“There’s no doubt that the people of Colorado are ready to take these challenges head-on all of us want to fix these issues and get people back to work,” said State Sen. Lois Tochtrop, D-Thornton. “We want safe roads, clean water, sturdy bridges and good school facilities. If Washington responds, we’ll see that investment is put to good use.”

The group is rallying support for an updated version of the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) legislation. The federal transportation funding legislation expired in September 2009 but has been extended through Dec. 31. Supporters would like to see as much as a $450 billion six-year funding source backed by Congress.

“Colorado was made great by workers who built what were once superior transportation systems, water resources and public facilities. For too long we’ve let the backbone of this great state and our nation fall into disrepair,” said Mano Frey, regional manager and vice president of LIUNA. “Now is the time to change that.”

He points out that there are 2 million construction workers out of work including about 60,000 in Colorado.

“We can put men and women back to work and leave behind a positive legacy and real assets for taxpayers and future generations,” said Frey. “It’s time to build Colorado so Colorado works.”

The union cites federal highway and bridge statistics in stating that there are 598 structurally deficient bridges in Colorado. The Colorado Department of Transportation puts that number closer to 126. There are hundreds of miles of crumbling highways and roads to fix as well.

Gov. Bill Ritter, a Democrat, pushed hard last year to raise vehicle registration fees in Colorado to raise an additional $250 million annually for transportation funding. Republicans fought passionately to kill the Funding Advancement for Surface Transportation and Economic Recovery (FASTER) legislation, but the Democrat-controlled Legislature pushed the measure through.

Colorado is also set to receive a total of more than $500 million for transportation projects through the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

LIUNA acknowledges that following the stimulus injection approved by Congress last year, it will be difficult to get Congress to approve as much as $450 billion for transportation. But the group points out that the stimulus funding is not a long-term solution.

“We’re realistic about this and we would love to see action this year, but really this is also a campaign priming the pump for next year,” said Dave Miller, spokesman for LIUNA.

A spokesman for U.S. Sen. Michael Bennet, D-Colo., said the senator is dedicated to working on federal transportation funding legislation.

“Anyone who’s driven across Colorado knows that a good share of our transportation infrastructure is in serious need of repair,” said Michael Amodeo, spokesman for Bennet. “Investments in our roads and bridges will not only create jobs now, but also lay a foundation that will support our economy’s competitiveness and future growth. Michael is working to shape a long-term, fiscally-responsible transportation bill that will create jobs and help rebuild Colorado’s roads and bridges.”

A spokeswoman for U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, D-Colo., said Udall is also committed to federal transportation funding. She pointed out that he approved the extension to the SAFETEA-LU legislation.

“Mark has always fought for more funding to fix our roads, highways, and bridges, which is why he voted for the SAFETEA-LU extension,” said Tara Trujillo, spokeswoman for Udall.

The Build America 2010 campaign believes highlighting deficient bridges in Colorado is a “conversation starter.” The group believes a significant investment in infrastructure could create as many as 393,000 jobs in Colorado alone.

Tom Muller, a construction worker and member of LIUNA Local 720 in Colorado, said he is ready to get back to work after being unemployed for six months.

“Every day, I see work that needs to be done,” he said. “That’s what we want to do every day to build Colorado and our country.”