Sustainable, Energy-Efficient Transportation Infrastructure

Opening Statement By Chairman David Wu

This hearing will come to order.  I’d like to welcome everyone to this morning’s hearing.  I can think of few topics that are of greater interest to the American public than the impact of filling up our cars on the household budget.  According to the Department of Energy, the average price of gas in the U.S. as of yesterday was $4.08 per gallon at the pump.

One thing we all agree on is that we must take action to help reduce the cost of transportation for families across the country.

Thus far, the national focus has been on cutting the cost of fuel.  However, any of the proposed solutions will not have a measurable impact for years.  But there are important steps that many cities and states are already taking to reduce fuel consumption and promote sustainability through changes to the transportation infrastructure, which includes roads, freeways, networks of stoplights, public transportation systems, and overall city planning.

Around the country, researchers in academia, industry, and Federal agencies have been working on developing innovative materials and technologies that reduce the lifecycle energy cost of transportation infrastructure and promote sustainability.  Pavements that incorporate waste materials that would otherwise be landfilled, traffic signal timing systems that cut congestion, and monitoring devices that can warn drivers to take alternate route around traffic jams are just a few of the examples of innovations in transportation infrastructure and technology that help protect the environment.

The potential benefits of these innovative materials and technologies are impressive.  Currently, the surface transportation sector accounts for 33 percent of carbon emissions in the United States.  Additionally, according to the Texas Transportation Institute, congestion alone accounted for 2.9 billion gallons of wasted fuel in 2007.  The Federal Highway Administration estimates that five percent of that congestion is due to poorly timed traffic signals.  If intelligent transportation systems can eliminate congestion due to poor signal timing, that’s a potential fuel savings of 145 million gallons of fuel per year.

What’s even more striking is that many of the technologies we need to bring about these fuel savings already exist.  So why isn’t every town in America using them?  I’m very interested to hear our witnesses’ thoughts on why policymakers opt not to use innovative materials and technologies as part of their transportation systems, and what the Federal government can to do to help spur technology transfer.

I’m proud that the First District of Oregon has been a leader in using energy efficient and sustainable transportation infrastructure.

With technologies such as a transit signal priority project that reduces idling by buses by linking on-board computers to traffic lights; ramp meters that cut congestion on our freeways; and real time traffic information for travelers so they can avoid backups, the state and local departments of transportation in Oregon have worked effectively to identify and implement innovative solutions to important transportation challenges.  These efforts are coordinated regionally, not just city by city, so that energy savings benefit taxpayers throughout the area.

Dr. Robert Bertini, who is the Director of the Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium, will tell us more about how the research and policy communities collaborate to make these projects a reality.

Soon, the Congress will be considering the next surface transportation reauthorization, and the Committee on Science and Technology plans to play an important role in defining our transportation research priorities for the future.  Sustainability and energy efficiency are no longer just buzzwords in the transportation community.

They are crucial components of a working national transportation infrastructure.  Building more roads alone is not the answer.  We must use our resources carefully and wisely, and that requires a commitment to reducing the creation of new materials and finding simple, innovative ways to conserve fuel.  I’m confident that our panel today will give us some solid ideas for moving forward on a sustainable, energy efficient transportation policy.

Witnesses

Panel

1 - Mr. Paul Brubaker
Administrator, Research and Innovative Technology Administration U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation
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2 - Mr. Randell Iwasaki
Chief Deputy Director California Department of Transportation California Department of Transportation
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3 - Dr. Robert Bertini
Director Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium Oregon Transportation Research and Education Consortium
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4 - Mr. Gerald Voigt
President and Chief Eexecutive Officer American Concrete Pavement Association American Concrete Pavement Association
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5 - Mr. Christopher Poe, Ph.D., P.E.
Assistant Agency Director Division Head / Director, Center on Tolling Research Texas Transportation Institute Texas Transportation Institute
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