NAPA establishes industry priorities with President-elect Biden and his transition team

On Dec. 4, the National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) sent a letter to President-elect Joseph Biden and his transition team expressing the desire to work with the incoming administration to stabilize the economy, create and sustain jobs in the highway construction industry, and build environmentally friendly, resilient pavements.

“There are many paths for NAPA to work in partnership with the Biden administration,” said NAPA President and CEO Audrey Copeland. “Our letter provides the road map for partnership and we stand ready to work with the transition team and the Biden Administration to innovate, rebuild and expand our nation’s surface transportation infrastructure.”

Chief among NAPA’s legislative priorities is passage of a long-term surface transportation authorization bill that increases highway funding and includes a permanent, dedicated, user-based revenue stream for the Highway Trust Fund. The letter also emphasizes the fact that asphalt is America’s most recycled product. Further, two of NAPA’s seven legislative proposals in the transition package focus on sustainability, including accelerated research on the potential for recycling plastic in asphalt and the role of asphalt pavements in a low-carbon transportation network.

“NAPA and its members are committed to building and maintaining our infrastructure with the utmost goal of recycling, sustainability, and concern for our environment and resources,” said NAPA Chairman James “Jay” Winford Jr., who is also president of Prairie Contractors Inc. in Opelousas, Louisiana. “In 2019, the asphalt pavement industry reclaimed 97 million tons of RAP for future use. This saved 2.4 million metric tons of CO2e, the equivalent of removing 520,000 passenger vehicles from the road. Asphalt is the preeminent solution for sustainable highways now and into the future.”

For more information on NAPA’s “Build Back Better With Asphalt” package for the Biden transition team, visit here.