Slowing Funding Darkens Prospects for Strong Transportation Market

This article describes how a sputtering U.S. economy has begun to affect transportation construction. Problems are emerging in state highway and bridge programs as tax income has dropped causing shortfalls in budgets. Until recently, housing and private development fees and taxes have plugged some holes in state and county budgets left by diminishing federal funds, but with the housing slowdown, rising material and fuel costs, some governments are putting projects on hold while alternative funding mechanisms are explored. Toll facilities and public-private partnerships are one alternative, but the author reports they have lost some of their luster. Although the collapse of the I-35W Bridge in Minneapolis was expected to bring a big surge in bridge-related work, it has not happened. The author also reports that the nation’s airlines’ financial problems have had a negative effect on facility improvements. The article includes charts listing the top 50 firms in transportation construction, the top 25 in bridge and airport construction, the top 10 in marine and port facilities, and the top 20 in mass transit and rail along with their financial information.