Texas road construction workers die at a higher rate than in any other state, and some believe it's because contractors aren't held accountable for accidents.

Over a seven-year period ending in 2020, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recorded 143 deaths at Texas road construction sites.

Josephine Lee, a reporter with the Texas Observer, investigated last year's death of Juan Simental from a fall while helping build a new toll road. The contractor had been hired by the Texas Department of Transportation or TxDOT. She said Texas is among states that allow private companies to operate under their own safety plan.

"TxDOT kept awarding contracts to the same equity group and its subsidiaries and so, they've made millions from Texas highways, but while they were doing it the injuries kept on racking up," she explained.

The AFL-CIO says over the last 50 years, there has been significant progress toward improving working conditions and protecting workers. But now, that progress is challenged as employers' opposition to workers' rights and protections has grown and attacks on unions have intensified.

Texas has more than 50 toll roads, and private contractors are building more. In public-private partnerships, design, construction, operation and maintenance is handed over to the for-profit entity. That also allows private firms to charge drivers high tolls, and many drivers avoid using the pricey roads.

Transportation activist Terri Hall has been organizing against toll roads since 2001.

"They call them 'privatized' toll roads, but they really are backed by the taxpayer, and when the traffic doesn't show up, it's going to be you and I that take the hit for that, not the company," Hall asserted. "And they've put very little of their own money at risk on these deals."

Lee notes that OSHA is not a preventive agency, and typically only investigates a construction fatality, not injuries. She believes Texas' policy of allowing private companies to report injuries themselves is highly-problematic because they are also concerned about their bottom line.

"How often is the state going out to investigate? You know, are they keeping their safety records, especially when there are debilitating injuries and hospitalizations and especially deaths?" she asked.

Following its investigation of Simental's death, OSHA elected not to fine the contractor, and levied only a $5,000 fine against the subcontractor, noting federal safety standards had been violated.

Massachusetts will receive close to $1 billion in federal funding to replace the Cape Cod bridges.

Lawmakers said it is the largest single bridge funding grant in U.S. history and the biggest federal grant ever awarded to the Commonwealth.

Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healy called it game-changing for the state's economy.

"It is a turning point truly in terms of sustained investments in an infrastructure whose benefits will be felt for generations," Healy emphasized. "It's a victory that we celebrate today."

The nearly 90-year-old Sagamore and Bourne bridges provide the only routes on and off the Cape and are considered "functionally obsolete" despite carrying more than 30 million vehicles each year. Healy explained plans are to focus first on replacing the Sagamore Bridge before turning to the Bourne.

The Biden Administration's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which established the Bridge Investment Program, invests a total of $40 billion over five years to help ensure the nation's most important bridges remain safe and operational. Already, the law has funded more than 7,000 bridge projects nationwide.

Sen. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said it feels like "Christmas in July," with the bridge project set to create some 9,000 construction jobs.

"We're going to do this with union labor," Markey pointed out. "It is going to be one of the largest union projects in Massachusetts history."

Markey noted an additional $700 million dollar state investment will allow construction on the Sagamore Bridge to begin. It is projected to be completed sometime in 2034 with the Bourne Bridge replacement completed more than a year later. The new bridges would be built next to the old ones to avoid traffic disruptions during construction.

Last week, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee heard testimony on the state and federal response to the collapse of the Key Bridge. In addition to a recap of the cleanup efforts, testimony turned to bridge replacement and who is paying for it.

Sen. Ben Cardin, D-Md., and Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., introduced the Baltimore Bridge Response Invests and Delivers Global Economic Relief Act, in which the federal government would fund 100% of the replacement of the bridge and its approaches. Cardin said the money is needed immediately.

"We are asking for the 100%, because that's what we've done in the past and we need it now," Cardin emphasized. "Because we are lending contracts to start the construction now. We don't want to delay this. Every month it's delayed is additional loss to our communities, and frustration among drivers, not only those that are directly impacted by the port, but those that are using our streets."

The legislation requires any funds recovered from insurance proceeds or as compensation for damages be used to reduce the federal government outlay. The current estimate to replace the bridge is $1.7 billion.

The Maryland Transportation Authority is evaluating proposals from design-build teams and expects to have a team chosen by mid- to late summer. Senators in the committee focused on safety upgrades to protect bridge piers against collisions from Neo-Panamax size ships such as the container ship Dali.

Paul J. Wiedefeld, Maryland transportation secretary, said designers will ensure pier protection.

"Whether it's through islands or actually moving the piers further apart," Wiedefeld explained. "If you put these piers much further apart, obviously, that's a natural protection. That'll be played out through the design as a high priority."

The bridge rebuild completion target is fall 2028.


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Wyoming's Wind River Canyon corridor turns 100 years old this year, and federal grant money will soon support a study on potential improvements. The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced $1.8 billion for infrastructure projects nationwide, including more than $1.6 million for a resilience and feasibility study in the Wind River Canyon corridor. The windy road links northern and southern Wyoming through the remote Big Horn Basin.

Cody Beers, senior public relations specialist with the Wyoming Department of Transportation, said everyday during the summer, about 5,000 vehicles travel the road, which is tough to maintain.

"It is a route that is fraught with rockfall, landslides," he explained. "It basically makes its own weather."

Weather and vehicle accidents often close the road, Beers said, and alternate routes are either 85 or 150 miles out of the way. Project partners include the towns of Thermopolis and Shoshoni, as well as the Eastern Shoshone and Northern Arapaho Tribes on the Wind River Reservation, through which the road also passes.

Many tourists use the scenic route, according to Beers, but it's also a vital route for people who live in the communities near it, including his own family. Beers added that his son and daughter-in-law live on one side of the canyon and are due to have a baby in a hospital on the other side.

"This canyon thoroughfare is very important to livelihoods, families, businesses, tourists, anybody using it to get from one community to the other. And we really believe that an alternate route is worth exploring," he continued.

WYDOT is interested in exploring an alternate route, Beers said, potentially a little-used road east of the highway, connecting the small towns of Lysite and Ten Sleep.