Stimulus bill update

Still skewed toward highways

Steve Hawley, Jan 27, 09.

UPDATE (2/10/09, 5:02 pm): The passage of the Nadler amendment increased the transit formula grants to $7.5 billion and funding for new starts to $2.5 billion.

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More information is available about the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, according to The Legislative Services Group’s Transportation Weekly publication. The proposed bill grants the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) $43.1 billion both maintain existing roads and to prepare for and build new roads, while also building new transit infrastructure.

According to the publication, “Democratic leaders of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee were disappointed because the $550 billion package, drafted by the Appropriations Committee, only contained $63 billion for programs under T&I jurisdiction, not the $85 billion that they had asked for.” It notes, however, that the committee received “basically everything it asked for” in terms of highway funding, meaning most of the omissions came from transit programs. For instance, the committee wanted $2.5 billion for transit new starts and $2 billion to help transit agencies “cope with the demand caused by high gasoline prices.” Transit new starts received only $1 billion, and transit agencies received nothing to help with increased demand.

Preliminary analysis shows that the proposed stimulus funding for transportation would be allocated accordingly:

Highways and bridges: $30 billion

   State DOTs: $20.5 billion
   Localities (through their MPOs): $7.4 billion
   Transportation enhancements: $1.3 billion
   Federal roads and programs: $800 million

Transit formula grants: ~~$6 billion~~ $7.5 billion

Airport improvement grants: $3 billion
Transit rail modernization: $2 billion

Transit new starts: ~~$1 billion~~ $2.5 billion

Amtrak capital grants: $800 million
Intercity passenger rail: $300 million

Transportation Weekly notes that “transportation enhancements” – mainly involving bike paths, but also including landscaping, billboard removal, and historic preservation – will receive more funding than intercity rail, even including the Amtrak expenditures.

Texas will receive an estimated $2.4 billion for highways, more than any other state except California. While this estimate does not divide the money into repairs versus new construction, a recent poll shows 80% of Americans prefer that the stimulus money be spent on transit and road repairs instead of new highways.

Texas is expected to receive over $336 million from the transit formula grants, placing it behind only California, New York, and Illinois. It is expected to rank first in rural transit funding and fifth in urban transit funding, behind California, New York, Illinois, and New Jersey.

Texas transit funding: $336.6 million
Urban: $298.3 million (88.6%)
Rural: $38.3 million (11.4%)