In a letter to U.S. House and Senate members, 14 associations representing construction materials, products and downstream interests question the Federal Highway Administration’s authority to proceed with a greenhouse gas performance measure on projects the agency funds. Their argument traces the absence of a legal basis for a November 2023 FHWA rule, “National Performance Management Measures; Assessing Performance of the National Highway System, Greenhouse Gas Emissions Measure,” implementing the policy from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 to a predecessor federal transportation program, Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21).
“Congress debated authorizing the U.S. Department of Transportation to establish a greenhouse gas performance measure, but it was ultimately excluded from the 2021 law due to the provision’s lack of sufficient congressional support,” the associations note. “Under the Obama Administration, FHWA considered establishing a similar rule, but the same agency under the Trump Administration determined that the rule exceeded the congressional intent of MAP-21 and was not required by law. The statutory language around performance measures has not changed since the 2012 enactment of MAP-21. We believe FHWA lacks the statutory authority to create a greenhouse gas performance measure, and therefore, support any and all congressional efforts to block this rule’s implementation.”
Signatories include the American Concrete Pavement Association, American Concrete Pipe Association, National Precast Concrete Association, National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association and Portland Cement Association, plus the Associated General Contractors of America and American Road & Transportation Builders Association.
CRH VENTURES MOTORS ‘ROADS OF THE FUTURE’
The latest accelerator program under the CRH Plc venture capital unit is open to applications from construction or climate technology start-ups in North America or Europe developing solutions within three distinctive surface transportation ecosystem segments: Smart and Safe Roads, Green and Resilient Roads, and Productivity in Road Construction. CRH Ventures is accepting Roads of the Future accelerator program applications through the end of this month at a portal linked from www.crhventures.com.
“Roads form the arteries of our society, and the Roads of the Future accelerator is our commitment to driving further innovation across this vital area of infrastructure,” says CRH Ventures Head Eduardo Gomez. “We invite start-ups to join us in helping shape the roads of the future, leveraging CRH’s unmatched expertise and scale in road construction.”
Roads of the Future application evaluations will take place in April and May, with pilot phases involving start-ups and CRH operating companies from June to December. CRH aggregate and roadbuilding units play a prominent role in the piloting and decision-making process. Roads of the Future is CRH Ventures’ second accelerator, following a Water Solutions program launched in May 2023.