Despite AZAGC's efforts to educate politicians on the importance of infrastructure, funding has been dormant for years

(PHOENIX, AZ) In addition to the economic setback our state will suffer from the recent I-10 bridge collapse, Arizona's infrastructure will continue to deteriorate, making our roads and highways less safe for Arizona families.

Despite the efforts of the Arizona Chapter of the Associated General Contractors (AZAGC) to educate elected officials on the need to protect and grow infrastructure funding, politicians continue to kick the can down the road on funding.

Instead of investing in infrastructure, politicians have raided $1.9 billion from the Highway User Revenue Fund (HURF), funding dedicated to improving the safety and efficiency of Arizona roads and highways.

"It's unfortunate that our state's economy will take a significant hit due to the bridge collapse, but hopefully this is a wake-up call to policy makers that infrastructure must be addressed," said AZAGC President David Martin.

Martin added, "A good place for policy makers to start is ending the HURF raids and using those funds to support our transportation system. It is vital that Arizona has a safe and efficient transportation system to manage future economic growth."

Rob Bottcher, Chairman of AZAGC, went further, "Sweeping the HURF to pay for other programs is just another example of politicians taking the easy way out. By avoiding the tough choices for more than a decade, politicians are eliminating vital resources needed to finance new infrastructure projects throughout the state. These HURF sweeps are significantly impacting the safety of Arizona drivers. AZAGC does support Governor Ducey's proposal last legislative session to increase registration fees to help alleviate the pressure put on the legislature to appropriately fund the Department of Public Safety. We will continue to support him on these efforts, but there is much work left to be done."

Past AZAGC Chairman Doug DeClusin added, "The politicians will be quick to point to the economic crisis in Arizona and throughout the country to justify their decisions, but the HURF raids have been going on since 2000, long before the economic recession. The lack of vision by our leadership is unacceptable. The solution is simple – end the HURF sweeps and reimburse the $1.9 billion raided over the past 14 years. These actions will allow the state to address some major areas of concern, so that we can avoid something like the I-10 bridge collapse from happening again."

In addition to working with elected officials at a state level, AZAGC will continue to work with Congress on a long-term transportation plan.   back...