SHAHEEN: TRANSPORTATION CRITICAL DRIVER OF ECONOMY, NEW HAMPSHIRE JOBS
At Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials 2014 Conference, Shaheen highlights importance of transportation program funding to New Hampshire
(Portsmouth, NH) – U.S. Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D-NH) this morning addressed the 2014 Northeast Association of State Transportation Officials (NASTO) conference where she highlighted the dire need to maintain funding for the Highway Trust Fund so that critical transportation infrastructure projects are not delayed in New Hampshire. Shaheen was joined by Chris Clement Commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Transportation and President of NASTO as well as other Northeast transportation officials including Ted Zoli, National Bridge Chief Engineer with HNTB Corporation, who was responsible for designing the new Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth.
“Improving our transportation infrastructure is critical to continued economic growth and job creation here in New Hampshire,” Shaheen said. “We must maintain funding for the Highway Trust Fund so that we don’t see delays to important projects such as the widening of I-93 and other investments in New Hampshire’s infrastructure. I’ll continue to work to make sure that our state has the federal resources necessary to maintain the transportation infrastructure needed to compete in the 21st century.”
Shaheen has been vocal about the need to maintain New Hampshire’s transportation infrastructure for both public safety and economic competitiveness. She worked with the New Hampshire and Maine congressional delegations to obtain funding for the replacement of the Memorial Bridge in Portsmouth and has repeatedly called for the replacement of the Sewalls Falls Bridge in Concord. She has also fought against cuts to the Transportation Investments Generating Economic Return (TIGER) program which encourages economic activity and jobs in New Hampshire through important infrastructure investments. Earlier this year, she introduced the Strengthen and Fortify Existing Bridges Act of 2014 (SAFE Bridges Act) which would establish a program to provide funding specifically dedicated to repair and replace aging and deteriorating bridges.
