b'24American Journal ofTransportation ajot.com(BLOWcontinued fromprojects,sayingwerenot page 22) going to do the wind thing.ofclean,reliable,andafford- TheAGssuitwastrig-able energy. This arbitrary andgered because of this execu-unnecessary directive threatenstiveorderbackinJanuary. the loss of thousands of good- Wind power both onshore and payingjobsandbillionsinoffshore has been successful investments, and it is delayingin not only adding gigawatts ourtransitionawayfromtheand resilience to the grid, but fossil fuels that harm our healthit has also been as AG Brown and our planet.noted, a job-creator.Also on May 5 th , MarylandWiththefreeze,theUS Attorney General Anthony G.ArmyCorpsofEngineers Brownannouncedthatthe(USACE) temporarily put on Specialized carriers that operate oversize and overweight vehicles are necessary support for infrastructure projects. statehadjoinedthecoali- holdareported168renew-tion of AGs fighting Trumpsable energy projects, many of Infrastructure spending increases the needEO, saying in a release, Thewhichwererelatedtowind Trumpadministrationsout- power.Althoughthemain for oversize and overweight trucksrageousandunlawfulfreezeimpactswereonwindproj-on wind energy developmentects located on federal land or By Debra Phillips, AJOT isnothingshortofadirectfederal leasing zones in off-assaultonMarylandsfutureshore waters, the pause also The nations infrastructure has been a topiccarriersoperateOversize(OS)andOver- climatesecurityandeco- includedrenewableprojects of concern for decades, with past and currentweight Vehicles (OV) that are required to sup- nomic prosperity. Wind powerlocated on private lands. presidentialadministrationsrecognizingtheport these projects. provideshardworkingMary- Despitetheadministra-importanceofinvestingininfrastructure.InCivilinfrastructureisoneofthecorelanders with well-paying jobs,tions distain for wind power January2025,U.S. TransportationSecretaryindustries served by specialized carriers, saidstrengthensourpowergrid,projects,windpowerhas Pete Buttigieg announced nearly $5 billion inChris Smith, Vice President of Transportationand helps us fight the increas- been a bright spot for the U.S. grants for 560+ projects in all 50 states. Thefor the Specialized Carriers & Rigging Asso- inglydevastatingimpactsofeconomy.Accordingtothe focus appears to be having an impact. ciation (SC&RA).climate change. IEA(InternationalEnergy In March, the American Society of CivilThesetrucksarevitaltoinfrastructureAgency), since January 2024, Engineers (ASCE) released the 2025 Reportimprovement projects because they enable thea f reezinGw ind U.S.windenergyconsump-Card for Americas Infrastructure. The 2025efficientandcost-effectivetransportationofHowever, when Presidenttionhasincreasedby25%. grades range from a B in ports to a D in storm- large, indivisible equipment and materials likeTrump returned to the WhiteAnd three states, Rhode Island water and transit. However, for the first timeconstructionmachinery,prefabricatedbridgeHouse in January among his(30 MW), Virginia (12 MW) since 1998, no Report Card categories werecomponents,andspecializedequipment,firstexecutiveorders[Janu- andNewYork(132MW) rated D-. Among the 18 categories assessed,Smith explained. ary20th,2025Unleashingalreadyhaveoffshorewind eight saw grade increases. However,liketheentiretruckingindus- AmericanEnergy],wastooperationswhilemanymore How are heavy equipment and the prod- try, OS & OV carriers are subject to numer- put a temporary freeze on fed- have projects in the pipeline.ucts needed to complete infrastructure projectsous regulations at both the federal and stateeral permitting and loans for(BLOWcontinued on transported?Inmostinstances,specialized(SPENDINGcontinued on page 27) all onshore and offshore windpage 30)'