In a roundtable discussion hosted by Rep Sam Graves, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Subcommittee on Highways and Transit, Kevin Burch, president of Jet Express Inc, Dayton OH, and incoming chairman of the American Trucking Associations, emphasized the important role of well-maintained infrastructure to the trucking industry.
“Having good, uncongested highways is important to my company and to trucking companies across the country,” Burch said, pointing out that dedicated funding for freight projects in last year’s FAST Act was an important win for trucking.
Specifically, he cited the early completion of a five-mile section of Interstate 75 in Dayton that has already improved safety for trucks and other motorists in the area.
“A third of all crashes,” Burch said, “are due to poor or outdated road design. These types of projects don’t just improve efficiency and reduce congestion, they improve safety.”
Burch also used the discussion to address other important issues to the trucking industry including truck parking, electronic logging devices, and the need to retain access to the current hours-of-service restart, which allows use of the extended break without restriction.