US Departments of Transportation and Commerce Forge Partnership to Boost Domestic Manufacturing Across America

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will partner with MEP to help identify U.S. manufacturing capabilities to produce new technologies and emerging products for the nation's highway systems. FHWA tasked MEP to identify U.S. manufacturers with potential production facilities for specialized steel fibers used in ultra high-performance concrete, which is a joint filler material between prefabricated bridge elements. Currently, this steel fiber is only made overseas.

At the U.S. Department of Commerce, the Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP) is part of the National Institute of Standards and Technology, an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce. MEP is a catalyst for strengthening American manufacturing – accelerating its ongoing transformation into a more efficient and powerful engine of innovation driving economic growth and job creation.

President Obama has called on Congress to pass measures in the American Jobs Act, which invests $50 billion in new transportation construction. In addition to construction jobs, these investments will pump billions into the domestic manufacturing sector, creating new orders and jobs at American manufacturers and suppliers.

For more information regarding the RFI for rail equipment, contact the California Department of Transportation at (916) 654-5467 or visit www.dot.ca.gov/.