2022 Annual Report

Chair’s Message

The November 2021 enactment of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) not only marked a landmark federal policy achievement but a pivot to a new phase of advocacy for the transportation construction industry.

ARTBA and its allies worked tirelessly during 2022 to ensure the IIJA’s first-year funding levels were achieved. On this front we delivered results. Federal highway and public transit investment hit a record $90 billion—up from $61 billion in 2021. During the last week of December, Congress completed action on year-two IIJA funding levels, with $93 billion dedicated to highway and transit programs in 2023.

ARTBA’s government affairs and economics team also devoted major resources to IIJA’s proper implementation, including regular discussions with the Biden administration about material prices, inflationary pressures, supply chain challenges, and Buy America requirements.

Among other notable advocacy and member service initiatives, we:

• Created an analytics tool—artbahighwaydashboard.org—to track state projects and programs receiving IIJA highway and bridge funds.
• Testified Nov. 30 before the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee on IIJA’s year-one impacts.
• Hosted two briefings on Capitol Hill for more than 100 congressional staffers to quantify the benefits of federal highway funds in those communities, along with similar sessions with our state contractor chapters for 17 congressional delegations.
• Earned two legal victories by: defeating an administration proposal for businesses with 100 or more employees to require COVID-19 vaccination or testing; and defending positive 2020 reforms to the National Environmental Policy Act.
• Produced in-person and online events for more than 2,100 industry professionals to facilitate learning, intelligence gathering, business development and networking.