Sean Barry

Transpo Opportunities Act

Transportation for America Communications Associate, May 16, 11.

Tagged with transportation, transit, infrastructure, high-speed rail

The unofficial release of a draft six-year transportation bill last week offers a promising albeit non-definitive glimpse of Obama administration priorities for the nation’s infrastructure programs.

The draft bill contains few surprises, as the White House hinted at many favored reforms in its 2012 budget blueprint in February. The proposal, titled the Transportation Opportunities Act, boosts resources for the U.S. Department of Transportation’s core highway program while making significant investments in transit. High-speed rail receives $8 billion upfront and $53 billion over six years, and $27.5 billion is directed toward a new Livability Program that folds many existing pedestrian, bicycling and transit elements under one umbrella.

The current Highway Trust Fund is renamed the Transportation Trust Fund to better reflect what has for decades been a multimodal program.

As an opening bid, the administration proposal offers a lot to like for transportation reformers. The plan embraces the bipartisan consensus around consolidating duplicative programs and includes strong State of Good Repair standards for both highways and transit. Plus, $31.9 billion is directed toward new merit-based Transportation Leadership Awards targeting states that adopt best practices such as strong data collection, reduced traffic fatalities and consideration of housing and the environment.

Throughout a project’s lifespan, states and regions would have to measure their current performance at meeting infrastructure needs and then let citizens know how new investment would impact future performance under a number of scenarios. Constituents would actually be able to see what they are getting for their tax dollars.

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While no one expects the administration proposal to emerge from the Congressional milieu untouched, it is sure to inform the relevant committees in the House and Senate as they continue drafting. A revised bill with the full and official backing of President Obama would both expedite this process and increase the prospects for meaningful and long overdue reforms.

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Source: Transportation for America, May 12, 2011

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