Welcome to the NASHTU Website
The National Association of State Highway and Transportation Unions (NASHTU) is dedicated to ensuring that federal transportation dollars are spent on cost-effective, safe projects that serve the public interest. NASHTU is comprised of 38 unions and associations representing hundreds of thousands of state and locally employed transportation engineers, construction managers and inspectors, technical workers and related public servants from throughout the United States.
23rd Annual NASHTU Conference – Register Today!
The 23rd Annual NASHTU Conference will be held June 5 through 7, 2023 at the Hilton Capitol Hill Hotel in Washington D.C. To register for the 2023 NASHTU Conference, click here.
The NASHTU Conference provides an important opportunity for transportation unions to come together and strategize about how best to serve our members and deliver safe, cost-effective transportation projects for taxpayers.
The conference is also a chance to hear from some of the preeminent transportation leaders in Washington. Past conferences included the congressional leaders of both Senate and House committees with jurisdiction over transportation and infrastructure and key transportation and labor officials from AASHTO, Transportation Trades Department, AFL-CIO, FHWA, Center for American Progress, American Highway Users Alliance, Economic Policy Institute, and many other transportation stakeholder organizations.
NASHTU conference attendees will be able to meet face-to-face with their state’s Congressional Representatives and Senators during the lobbying portion of the conference, reserved for the afternoon of Tuesday, June 6. The NASHTU Conference will also feature networking opportunities, including a Group Dinner where conference attendees can get to know union representatives from other states, and a Congressional Reception where they can mingle with Members of Congress and Congressional staff.
Again to register for the conference, please visit our conference webpage.
NASHTU Notes
March 22, 2023
Maryland Dodges P3 Bullet
According to Maryland Matters, an online publication covering Maryland Government and Politics, Australian-based Transurban announced that it was withdrawing from a public-private partnership near Washington D.C.
The $11 billion project, first announced by former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) in 2017, would replace the American Legion Bridge and add four “high-occupancy toll” lanes on portions of the Capitol Beltway (Interstate 495) and Interstate 270.
Transurban was the lead partner in a consortium known as Accelerate Maryland Partners, which was selected for the project in 2021. The withdrawal announcement comes less than two weeks before the consortium was required to meet a key deadline and submit its design and finance plans for the project.
In a statement, Transurban gave vague reasoning for pulling out of the project, but tellingly blamed a “changing political landscape,” among other reasons. In January 2023, Governor Hogan’s term ended, and Democrat Wes Moore, who was elected in November 2022, took office. Governor Wes Moore has been critical of the project, and he has sought “a change of direction in the plan.”
The Governor said in a statement that the termination of the Phase P3 agreement does not impact the approved federal Record of Decision for the first phase of the project. The statement went on to state that Maryland did not owe payment to Transurban because the company “executed its contractual right to not proceed” and that the state remains committed to continuing progress in a manner that ensures “social equity, environmental protection, and engagement with the local community.”
NASHTU has long advocated against the use of P3s in transportation and other public works projects. When government allows private corporations to inject profit into public works projects, the public always loses. In this case, as soon as the political winds changed and Transurban figured out that they couldn’t steamroll the environment and local communities, they bailed.
It is uncertain at this time if the project will remain a P3. NASHTU will post updates as they become available. NASHTU urges the Maryland DOT to complete the necessary transportation improvements using traditional financing and public sector professionals for the design, construction inspection, and maintenance of the project.
Read the full article here.