Building for Generations: Why Surface Transportation Reauthorization Must Look Beyond the Short Term

As a nation, we’ve been here before: a political impasse stalls surface transportation reauthorization, and we fall back on continuing resolutions that maintain outdated funding levels.

A continuing resolution is better than nothing, but we must do better for consumers, taxpayers, and future generations. Congress needs to reauthorize surface transportation programs and make every infrastructure dollar go further. It should incentivize owners and agencies to build and manage pavements to a long-life performance standard. Decisions should account for a corridor’s full life construction, maintenance, rehabilitation, and the effects of closures on the people and businesses that depend on it. A focus on near-term cost alone can lead to more spending and disruption over time.

Agencies also need a competitive market in which concrete and asphalt are fairly evaluated, giving durable, cost-effective solutions a genuine opportunity to be selected. Sound asset management means preserving what works, using concrete overlays where appropriate, and rebuilding where necessary to withstand heavy freight traffic and future disruptions.

Congress, agencies, and state DOTs can improve performance within a fixed pavement budget by planning across the whole network and over decades. That means deciding where and when to invest, requiring long-life performance where it matters most, accounting for uncertain future conditions and prices, and considering treatments such as overlays alongside reconstruction.

At minimum, Congress should challenge owners and agencies to achieve generational infrastructure and employ a few approaches to make investments go further by planning for the long term, keeping treatment and material choices open, and consider healthy competition among materials as part of asset management. Competition between paving materials and among bidders can affect unit prices.

Federal investment should leave the country with more than a list of completed projects. It should build a highway system that performs for generations, withstands disruption, and makes the best use of every public dollar. At ACPA’s Annual Meeting, we will discuss these questions with FHWA and state DOT representatives: What is the condition of our highway system? What investment does it need? And how can agencies make that investment go further? We will also examine MIT’s research on competition in pavement markets, supported by the ACPA Foundation, and discuss how fair competition, long-term planning, and cost-effective treatments such as overlays can help deliver a stronger, more resilient network. I encourage you to register today and join us in Florida, December 1-3, 2026, for these important conversations.

Save the Date – Upcoming ACPA National Events and Chapter/State Association Workshops:

Stay up to date on upcoming industry events with ACPA’s Calendar of Events. To submit your event details, please contact Vickie Spielman at vspielman@acpa.org.

October 27-29, 2026       ACPA Airport Workshop, Phoenix, AZ
October 28, 2026             24th Annual Nevada Infrastructure Concrete Conference, Reno, NV
December 1-3, 2026        ACPA Annual Meeting, Hollywood, FL
December 14-15, 2026   ACPA-SE and CRMCA Count on Concrete Conference, Raleigh, NC
January 11, 2027              ACPA TRB Reception, Washington, DC
January 13-14, 2027        ND Ready Mix & ND ACPA Annual Convention, Bismarck, ND
January 19-21, 2027       World of Concrete, Las Vegas, NV
February 2-3, 2027          New York State Concrete Paving Conference, Clifton Park, NY
February 3-5, 2027          63rd ICPA Annual Concrete Paving Workshop, Des Moines, IA
February 9-10, 2027        South Dakota Concrete Conference, Sioux Falls, SD
February 11-12, 2027      WCPA Annual Concrete Pavement Conference, Oshkosh, WI
February 11, 2027            Indiana Chapter ACPA 2027 PCCP Workshop, Indianapolis, IN
February 14-17, 2027     KCA 2027 Annual Convention, Bowling Green, KY
February 16-17, 2027     2027 ILCPA Annual Meeting, Springfield, IL
February 16-17, 2027     MCA Annual Conference and 75th Anniversary Celebration, Dearborn, MI
February 17-18, 2027     29th ACPA/PA Conference, Camp Hill, PA
March 3-5, 2027               47th Annual Portland Cement Concrete Pavement Conference, Kansas City, MO
March 11, 2027                Colorado/Wyoming Annual Conference Pavement Workshop, Denver, CO
March 18-19, 2027          CPAM Annual Workshop, Waite Park, MN
March 23-24, 2027          Oklahoma Concrete Pavement Conference, Oklahoma City, OK
April 21-22, 2027             California Concrete Pavement Conference, Davis, CA
June 8-10, 2027                ACPA Mid-Year Meeting, New Orleans, LA