McCAIN

The 2008 presidential election comes at a critical time for the aggregates industry and the nation. U.S. population increased 20 percent from 1990 to 2005, leading to more vehicle miles traveled, with only a slight increase in highway capacity. Bridges are in need of repair. Surface transportation infrastructure legislation expires next year, and the Highway Trust Fund is projected to finish 2009 with a $3 billion deficit.

On whom should we rely to address these issues – candidates Barack Obama or John McCain?

The numbers seem to favor Obama, a Democratic senator from Illinois. He has voted in favor of National Stone, Sand & Gravel Association (NSSGA) transportation issues 65 percent of the time, compared to McCain's 25.7 percent mark, according to NSSGA data. In addition, Sen. Joe Biden, Obama's vice presidential running mate, ranks near the top with a 54.3 percent mark.

"For years, we have stood by while our national infrastructure has crumbled and decayed," said Obama, during a speech early this year in Janesville, Wis. "In 2005, the American Society of Civil Engineers gave it a D, citing problems with our airports, dams, schools, highways and waterways. One out of three urban bridges were classified as structurally deficient, and we all saw the tragic results of what that could mean in Minnesota [after the I-35 bridge collapse that killed 13 people] last year."

Obama

The American Society of Civil Engineers estimates that $1.6 trillion is needed over a five-year period to bring roads, bridges, power plants, levees, rail lines and other systems into a state of good repair, according to a Reuters report.

End the earmarks

A Republican senator from Arizona, McCain is the ranking member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation. He is also a former committee chairman. While McCain has recognized the importance of transportation issues, he has made his feelings clear on earmark spending.

"Funding for transportation infrastructure and transportation safety is of enormous importance, and I know all of us support doing what we can to improve our nation's transportation system, from our roads and bridges to our air service," McCain said on the Senate floor in 2007 while debating a 2008 transportation and Housing and Urban Development appropriations bill. "The tragic bridge collapse in Minnesota was a harsh reminder of just how critical our responsibilities are to balance competing transportation funding needs. But we simply must do so in a fiscally responsible manner."

McCain said he opposed the transportation bill because it was a "budget buster." He said federal and state governments must prioritize their transportation spending to focus on projects with the most need rather than "building bridges to nowhere."

McCain also voted against SAFETEA-LU due to the earmarks contained in the bill, while Obama supported its passage. Since 2005, this legislation has authorized the federal surface transportation programs for highways, highway safety and transit, but it expires next year.

"This monstrosity of a conference report – which costs an astounding $286.4 billion – is both terrifying in its fiscal consequences and disappointing for the lack of fiscal discipline it represents," McCain said in 2005 while debating final passage of SAFETEA-LU.

In a 2007 CNN-YouTube debate, candidates were asked if they were willing to step forward and address the nation's infrastructure deficiencies, which the questioner said would cost in excess of $2 trillion to fix.

"The first thing I'll do, my friends, is take out my veto pen and veto every single pork-barrel project that comes across my desk, and there will be no more bridges to nowhere under my administration," McCain answered. "I promise you that."

In a May 2008 New York Times report, McCain added, "The bridge in Minneapolis didn't collapse because there wasn't enough money. The bridge in Minneapolis collapsed because so much money was spent on wasteful, unnecessary pork-barrel projects."

Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, McCain's vice presidential running mate, did highlight transportation as a key issue of her 2006 campaign platform, but some say McCain needs to define how he will fix the nation's roads and bridges.

"It will be essential for McCain to explain more clearly how he will deal with these home-front issues, without resorting to earmarks, if he does not want to open himself up to Democratic charges of being uncaring and out of touch," said Princeton University professor Julian Zelizer in a Bloomberg article.