As Sens. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) and John McCain (R-Ariz.) enter the post-Labor Day stretch run for the White House, construction officials are poring over the candidates’ statements and records for hints about their infrastructure policies. Whoever wins will have have his hands full in 2009 with bills that will set federal funding and policies in highways, transit and aviation for the next several years.
The new president “will face an infrastructure problem that needs to be dealt with,” says Brian Pallasch, American Society of Civil Engineers’ managing director for government relations. “Our hope is that there is some new thinking on these issues and there are some new solutions.”