Nov. 11, 2021 – I reached out to Tom Hill, chairman and chief executive officer of Vulcan Materials; and Ward Nye, chairman and CEO of Martin Marietta, for their thoughts on the passage of the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
“The bipartisan infrastructure bill has been a long time in the making,” Hill told Rock Products. “We are excited that it includes a five-year reauthorization of federal-aid highway programs, as well as one-time additional funding for large road and bridge projects. The long-term highway reauthorization, combined with the substantial additional investment in other transportation modes, water, energy and broadband, gives the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act the potential to be as significant to our nation’s security, competitiveness and quality of life in the future as the passage of the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956 has been to our lives.
“Our Vulcan family is ready to provide the crushed stone, sand and gravel, asphalt and concrete that will make our infrastructure safer, and more sustainable and resilient, for generations to come. It’s a great time to build a career here. We’re excited to be hiring people to fill a wide variety of roles in locations across the country that will be part of the rebuilding America legacy,” Hill concluded.
“As the most significant infrastructure action since the introduction of the Interstate Highway System, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is historic and transformational legislation,” Nye told Rock Products. “In addition to improving and modernizing the nation’s surface transportation systems, this generational investment will drive years of economic growth and job creation. Martin Marietta is grateful to the members of Congress who voted for final passage of this bipartisan legislation.”