Vulcan Materials CEO: Highway Funding Has Bipartisan Support

Vulcan Materials Co. (VMC) Chief Executive Don James is optimistic about the outlook for federally funded highway spending, despite the ongoing focus in Washington, D.C., on the budget deficit.

"With all of the budget cuts that have occurred...the federal highway program has not been touched," James said Wednesday during a BB&T Capital Markets conference in New York.

He called the trend an encouraging sign of bipartisan support for highway funding.

Vulcan, based in Birmingham, Ala., produces aggregates used in road construction and the residential and non-residential building sectors.

James said President Barack Obama recently proposed a six-year, $551 billion transportation plan that includes more than $300 billion for highways.

"The problem with the president's proposal [is] he didn't come out with a way to fund it," James said, although he added that Democrats and Republicans alike are broadly supportive of highway spending so observers should "stay tuned" to what happens in Washington.

He also said a substantial amount of allocated federal stimulus money for highways remains to be spent, and that the federal highway trust fund won't "hit the wall" by running a deficit at current spending levels for at least a year and a half. A number of proposals to reverse the trend are under consideration, he said.

-By Bob Sechler; Dow Jones Newswires; 512-258-1690; [e-mail]