Technology
13 Sep 11
ARTBA warns of threat from proposed fly ash restrictions
The cost of building US roads, runways and bridges would increase by an estimated US$104.6bn over the next 20 years if coal fly ash is no longer available as a building material, according to a new study by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association's Transportation Development Foundation (ARTBA-TDF).
New proposed disposal regulations may limit or eliminate its availability and so the ARTBA-TDF study was conducted to forecast the potential economic impacts on transportation infrastructure.
Alison Premo Black, ARTBA senior economist and the report's author, said that the excess US$5.23bn annual direct cost includes a US$2.5bn increase in the price of materials and an additional US$2.73bn in pavement and bridge repair work due to the shorter service life of other blends.
