Reed Officially Introduces Bill to Expedite Highway Safety Improvements

Press Release

Congressman Tom Reed has officially introduced a bill in the House of Representatives which will save taxpayer money while expediting local highway safety improvements. Reed introduced The Remove Unnecessary Roadblocks to Local Transportation Safety Projects Act, which will provide paperwork exemptions for certain routine highway safety projects that do not entail substantial land acquisition. Examples of such projects include guide rail replacements and installation of signs, pavement markers and traffic signals.

"Like our BUILD Bridges Act, this is another piece of common sense legislation that will allow safety improvements to move forward more quickly and at less cost to taxpayers," Reed observed. "Allowing these exemptions for routine projects reduces the time and expense of duplicative and cumbersome federal paperwork for simple replacements and improvements."

Reed discussed the legislation last week at the site of a potential guide rail project in the Town of Ischua in Cattaraugus County. "This will allow counties to stretch their highway investment dollars much farther," he said. "That means safer highways and more jobs for local contractors."

"Put simply, this means that we will be able to do more improvements for the same investment," said Cattaraugus County Public Works Commissioner Joseph Pillittere.

The bill will be assigned to the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. "We will track its progress closely and ensure that it moves forward," Reed said.

Source