A blonde wearing a hardhat and dress suit while sitting behind a desk. You couldn’t ask for a better pinup for the industry garage.
There wasn’t one sexy pixel forming the pictures Mary Peters took alongside a busy interstate while she was FHWA administrator, but it was perhaps one of the most glamorous photo shoots the American Traffic Safety Services Association (ATSSA) ever produced. It didn’t just catch the eye, it held the attention and cradled a powerful message—that the work zone was the workplace for thousands of Americans.
In early September, President George W. Bush appointed Peters to be the next U.S. DOT secretary.
I had the opportunity to sit and interview Peters when she was the head and face of FHWA during ConExpo-Con/Agg 2002. She had the spark of a dependable Champion plug and the charm of a mother that sets apple pies on open windows for a Saturday-afternoon cooling. Peters also had the foresight of a boxing champion. She knew exactly what or who was in her way and was coming hard with jabs and uppercuts.
I must admit, I was expecting the knockouts to pile on the Congressional canvas, but throughout her tenure she worked the ropes. She might have inflicted a lot of progress on her big-three initiative—safety, congestion and the environment—but I’m not sure how many times she was allowed to raise her arm in triumph.
It looks as if her confirmation as the new U.S. DOT secretary is already etched in a government-issued nameplate. But before she takes her first breath as this industry’s queen, I have a revised big-three initiative she may want to pocket.
Next-tea
The funding crop is drastically different from what it was four years ago. The Highway Trust Fund chest is about to be cleaned out, and even though committees have been formed to address the immediate future challenges, little information on progress is leaking from under the closed-door meetings. Somebody needs to whip this horse to race before we face another three-year-long funding extension.
Privatization
This country seems to be utterly confused about the whole process of privatization. This is to be expected. After all, it is a concept fresh off the trial shelf. As head of the U.S. DOT, Peters needs to organize the leadership necessary to educate the masses on this vital source of potential revenue. She also may need to hold classes off the industry campus, one that will offer a think tank for prime investment groups. The prospect of American roads—like the Chicago Skyway and the Indiana Toll Road—essentially being owned by international leeches is a bit repulsive. The U.S. needs to slap its name on its own property.
Global positioning
As noted in past editorials, we have two feet into the new global economy, where China and India are heavyweight competitors. In order to hold our No. 1 ranking, we need to have the ability to move commerce without friction. Let’s start with the North American Free Trade Agreement route, where congestion runs rampant.
As you can see, the heart of the dynamic trio hasn’t changed much since 2002, but the conditions have taken a turn for the fearless. I’m afraid slipping into a formal suit and slapping on a hardhat aren’t enough. Peters needs to be fitted with a cape.
