Distraction Level for Funding: High

From my AsphaltPro Magazine desk, I have a view of passion fruit and grape vines outside my window. Green geckos and multi-colored butterflies flit around the blooms and leaves in the Florida sunshine, providing a beautiful backdrop when my brain needs to ruminate some high-level balanced mix design concept that included too many additives for a first read. I’m sure Chris Harrison, the group publisher of AsphaltPro, would question his hiring decisions if he could see me staring out the window, mumbling to myself: “The voids in mineral aggregate don’t add up.”

I often appear distracted.

At this stage in our history, I dare say those of us in the U.S. asphalt industry are truly distracted. I’m not talking about smart phones taking workers’ eyes and minds off passing traffic in a work zone, although that’s a relevant reminder for each and every tailgate talk. I’m talking about the current political hysteria taking our eyes and minds off the push for fully restoring the Highway Trust Fund (HTF).

Ladies and Gentlemen, have we lost sight of our future fiscal coffers?

I agree that the current presidential administration has rolled back irksome regulations that had stymied business and manufacturing. I agree that the current administration has brokered new and better trade deals to augment American manufacturing’s leverage in the global marketplace and improve American jobs and ingenuity. But let’s not forget that we have American infrastructure to build and maintain with American elbow grease. There’s a HTF to refill and safeguard. Have you reminded your representatives that transportation funding is a priority to you?

Among the many distractions in my life, I prefer the geckos and butterflies leaping and dancing in the sunshine. I can easily put them in the background while I send letters to my representatives urging them to take our nation’s infrastructure funding seriously. I encourage you to do the same, despite the distractions swirling around us at this time.

Stay safe,

Sandy Lender