Streetsblog examines SAFETEA-LU’s flaws

New bill must fix problems

Steve Hawley, May 07, 09.

The current transportation funding bill, the 2005 Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), contains numerous flaws that must be addressed in the upcoming transportation reauthorization bill, according to a post in Streetsblog. SAFETEA-LU expires in September 2009.

The article notes that under SAFETEA-LU, it is significantly easier to fund highways than transit projects. The bill allocated $40 billion per year to highways, while just $10 billion was spent on transit projects annually. The recent stimulus bill temporarily improved the situation, providing $27.5 billion for highways and $8.4 billion for transit, as well as $9.3 billion for intercity rail and $1.5 billion for discretionary grants.

The article states:

What’s more, SAFETEA-LU made it easy for states to build roads and hard for them to build transit projects. While funds for new roads were simply distributed to states based on a formula, new transit lines had to undergo the rigorous New Starts process—competing with other projects from all over the country—before winning a share of federal dollars. There was no such required audit for road projects.

Furthermore, while New Starts were eligible for up to 80 percent federal funding - the same percent allocated to any highway project - cities that provided more local money gained an edge in the competitive process. As a result, the federal government rarely funded more than 60 percent of any New Starts project.

While SAFETEA-LU provided $8.2 billion in flexible funding, which could have been used for transit, pedestrian and bike projects, and air quality improvements instead of highways, most state Departments of Transportation opted to spend the money on roads anyway.

SAFETEA-LU also depends on declining gas tax revenues for its funding. Gas revenues have been falling as a result of declining vehicle miles traveled and more fuel-efficient vehicles. Exxon expects US fuel demand to drop by 22 percent in the next 20 years. Several key officials have suggested that the gas tax may be replaced by a vehicle-miles fee instead.

While some of SAFETEA-LU’s earmarks have been ridiculed, such as the infamous “Bridge to Nowhere” in Alaska, the article notes that many pedestrian and bike projects were also funded through the same process. The way the legislation is written, earmarks are often the only way to fund alternative transportation projects.

The new transportation reauthorization bill may be ready by early June, according to Rep. James Oberstar of Minnesota, who chairs the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.