The U.S. transportation construction industry has launched a grassroots and advocacy advertising campaign on multiple fronts to increase pressure on Congress and the Trump administration to act in 2020 on a permanent Highway Trust Fund (HTF) revenue solution and a robust, long-term transportation infrastructure investment package.

The multi-month Transportation Construction Coalition-initiated effort features three components.

The first kicked off during the “Moving America Forum” Presidential Candidate Forum, held Sunday, February 16, at the University of Nevada Las Vegas, and featured targeted digital ads aimed at forum attendees. The ads directed construction industry professionals to the Hardhats for Highways site, where users can directly email their U.S. senators and congressmen and ask them to support passage of legislation that increases  investment in the nation’s highway and transit programs.

Similar ads will run beginning today through March 14 at the CONEXPO-CON/AGG Exposition in Las Vegas, North America’s largest construction trade show.

The second component includes the use of social and digital ads that target constituents of members of the Senate Finance and House Ways & Means Committees and encourages them to share their desire for action on new federal transportation investments.  The committees are responsible for developing the funding mechanisms to pay for their respective versions of surface transportation investment legislation.

The campaign’s third component will feature digital and television “Stuck” ads inside the D.C. Beltway.  The spots highlight the impacts of traffic congestion on the U.S. economy and urge Congress to “get back to work” by passing transportation infrastructure legislation this year.  The TV ad will run on cable news programs followed up with digital ads targeting members of Congress, their staff and other policy influencers to create additional urgency for action.