More than 2 million miles of paved roads connect our nation’s cities to towns and the countryside; farms to the markets; factories to stores. These ribbons of asphalt take Americans from their homes to their places of work, recreation, study, and worship. With just-in-time inventory systems, the highway is the warehouse, and getting materials to where they need to go – on time – is an essential process.

But this pavement platform, also known as highways, roads, and bridges, that has been responsible for the wealth of our country, is now at great risk. The current condition of the Interstate Highway System, designed and built in the 20th century, is not capable of sustaining America’s economic growth in the 21st century. The 44,000 miles of Interstate Highway pavements and bridges were neither designed nor built to handle the traffic loads—both in volume and weight—that exist today or that are projected into the future.

Today, the challenges facing America’s transportation are great, but the will—especially the political will—to solve those challenges must be even greater. 

This is why NAPA and its partners work year-round to educate Congress about the benefits to the nation of a robust highway bill. NAPA's government affairs activities are the epitome of democracy in action. Our grassroots program keeps the men and women of the asphalt industry in touch with what’s happening in Washington. In addition, as part of the Transportation Construction Coalition, NAPA brings asphalt pavement producers and contractors to Washington regularly for Legislative Fly-Ins. These citizen lobbyists make personal visits to their elected representatives on Capitol Hill, carrying with them their unique perspective on the importance of keeping our nation’s surface transportation system strong.

Click here to visit this section for a direct connection to your senator or congressman. In addition, get the latest on legislative news affecting the asphalt pavement and transportation industry.