After the U.S. Senate’s vote to confirm Anthony Foxx as the next Secretary of the U. S. Department of Transportation, Patrick D. Jones, Executive Director and CEO of the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA), the worldwide association representing toll facility owners and operators and the businesses that serve them, released the following statement: “IBTTA congratulates Secretary Foxx on his confirmation today as the next U. S. Secretary of Transportation. Secretary Foxx’s leadership comes at a time when our nation confronts unprecedented transportation infrastructure funding challenges. We look forward to working with Secretary Foxx to overcome the transportation funding crisis, to improve transportation safety, to use innovative technologies to enhance the capacity of our road network and to rebuild our transportation infrastructure as an engine for jobs and economic growth.”
“We also extend our gratitude to outgoing Secretary Ray Lahood for his outstanding record of public service, his leadership of the department and his steadfast commitment to advance highway safety through his Distracted Driving Initiative. We agree with Secretary Lahood that we as a nation must explore alternative funding options, including tolling, to address our nation’s transportation infrastructure challenges. IBTTA wishes him well in the next chapter of his life.”
In an interview earlier this week with the Detroit News, outgoing Transportation Secretary Lahood acknowledged the need for Congress to look toward new revenue funding options to fix America’s crumbling infrastructure. In the story, Lahood is quoted as saying, “Eventually people in the communities are going to persuade their members of Congress: We’re willing to raise taxes, we’re willing to pay tolls, we’re willing to go to vehicle miles traveled because we want better roads, better bridges.”
