New DOT chief Foxx promises focus on efficiency

New DOT chief Foxx promises focus on efficiency

In his first blog post as DOT secretary, Anthony Foxx promised to work on improving the efficiency and performance of the nations transportation system, even while we must work harder than ever to stretch our transportation dollar.

Although Foxx didnt talk about this, road funding presents an immediate problem. There is a $20 billion gap between the $35 billion the gas tax yields annually and the $54 billion allocated by the current surface transportation measure. For now, lawmakers have closed the gap by reallocating money from other parts of the federal budget. But they likely wont do that again once the current measure (known as Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century, or simply MAP-21) expires in September 2014.

Foxx gave an example of a money-saving measure, the use of Warm Mix Asphalt in paving roads, which he says saves taxpayers millions of dollars each year. Because the new technology can withstand lower temperatures, it allows road crews to keep working into the colder months. That should save $3.5 billion by 2020.

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