Originally posted on Faster Better Safer, the blog of Americans for Transportation Mobility
America is inching closer to a monumental investment and policy framework for modernizing our transportation system and building next-generation infrastructure.
The U.S. House of Representatives has set a Sept. 27, 2021, deadline to vote on an untethered $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure deal (the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act) that will dedicate $550 billion in new investment for various physical infrastructure. The Senate has already passed the bill on a strong bipartisan 69-30 vote. If approved by the House, it moves to President Biden to become law and represents a commingling of negotiations and compromises, with both sides of Congress having met in the middle.
Americans favor infrastructure investment. “This is one of relatively few policy areas for which there is strong public support from all Americans, regardless of political identity,” according to Gallup.
I know, however, that passing legislation in D.C. can often feel like a Jenga game and the job is not done yet. Regardless, I want to thank the Americans for Transportation Mobility (ATM) Coalition members and partners who have worked endlessly, and during this global pandemic, to help get this latest bipartisan infrastructure package over the finish line.
The Coalition has been championing federal infrastructure investment through different delivery platforms and broad infrastructure messaging for 20 years.
This bill is evidence that our leaders completely know what is at stake and have an opportunity to deliver on a critical issue impacting every American.
Now What?
As aspects of budget reconciliation unfold, we will continue to advocate passing the historic bipartisan infrastructure and jobs bill. Addressing America’s physical infrastructure problems now is not a partisan play. It is simply the right thing to do.
We are asking you to contact your Representatives and ask that they vote for this bill and remind them our Hill allies keep working on this front.
Without these investments, the workforce, economy, enterprises, business and labor stakeholders and American families will not see the changes we need in necessary federal investment.
This history-making legislation has the single largest dedicated bridge investment, since the building of the Interstate Highway System, to help address the more than 45,000 structurally deficient bridges in America.1
It also encompasses the ideals of how the United States must evolve to meet current and future challenges. In 1956, Missouri awarded the country’s first major contract to build an interstate highway, what is now I-44.2 Sixty-five years later, America is poised to strengthen traditional infrastructure, build more resilient infrastructure, and integrate innovation and workforce development.
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) provides funding for things such as charging stations and electric school buses, which can help reduce emissions. The Economic Policy Institute (EPI) reported in 2020 that investment in infrastructure and clean energy would create at least 6.9 million good jobs.
However, part of what has set in motion this legislation is widespread acknowledgement that states and localities alone cannot shoulder the expense of upgrading transportation. The network has capacity problems, aging roads and bridges, underfunded public transit, accidents and costly freight bottlenecks. Virginia had to launch a towing and recovery incentive program.
“Virginia’s economy takes a hit of up to $1,200 for every minute that drivers spend in traffic,” said Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) Commissioner Stephen C. Brich. “Incidents are the number-one cause of congestion on I-81, so we can make a real improvement on that interstate by getting lanes reopened more rapidly.”
Whether it’s by ground, rail, air or water, America must have a transportation network that:
- is interconnected and safe;
- fuels regional economies;
- is fully funded;
- supports global commerce;
- provides access for all citizens;
- improves multimodal mobility;
- incorporates new technologies and long-term jobs; and
- can withstand climate impacts.
A single catastrophic weather event can have rippling effects. In one area where moving agricultural products, iron and steel is economically significant, the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigational System contains 18 locks and dams, and gateways/waterways such as the Tulsa Port of Catoosa, Port of Muskogee and the Mississippi River. That system faces close to $300 million in growing and backlogged maintenance.3
Projects Can Get the Greenlight
The ATM has helped focus on America’s transportation story by pointing out state-specific problems and opportunities. Project needs we’ve covered, spanning Kentucky’s Brent Spence Bridge to Miami-Dade’s Strategic Miami Area Rapid Transit (SMART) Plan, are positioned to get federal funding.
But the investment needs everywhere are huge. Within Bucks County, Pa., the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) identified more than $400 million of outstanding bridge maintenance and roadwork to be done, including on heavily traveled areas in/on Yardley, 202, Route 1 and I-95. In Maricopa County, Ariz., new federal funding can help significant capital projects, which include light rail extension and I-10 and Loop 101 construction work, proceed.4
Notably, it is a different world than when the federal highway system was built, and America has to transition accordingly. Shifts we can’t overlook include e-commerce altering consumerism, people relying on public transit more, and COVID leading to our economy and jobs sector needing to be resuscitated.
Goods moved on America’s transportation network rose in value and tonnage from 2012 to 2017, according to the latest five-year version of the Freight Analysis Framework (FAF5) jointly released earlier this year by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) and Bureau of Transportation Statistics (BTS). Nearly 20 billion tons of goods worth almost $19 trillion moved on the U.S. transportation network in 2017.
In 2019, Americans took 9.9 billion trips on public transportation. Public transportation is an $80 billion industry that employs more than 448,000 people. Approximately 6,800 organizations provide public transportation in the U.S.5
“The coronavirus outbreak that began in February 2020 sent shock waves through the U.S. labor market, pushing the unemployment rate to near record highs and causing millions to leave the workforce. A year later, a full recovery for the labor market appears distant,” the Pew Research Center reported in the spring.
We know this legislation may not be 100 percent of what everybody wants. But it’s a fluid infrastructure investment bill and also a potentially sizable win for the American people and — despite our many interests — this ultimately matters in the long run.
President John F. Kennedy said “every accomplishment starts with the decision to try” and try we must.
Sources:
1. ARTBA
2. The NewsWheel
3. Tulsa World
4. Pennsylvania Chamber of Commerce and Maricopa County Association of Governments (MAG)
5. APTA
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