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June 2011
This Infrastructure News update is provided by Spartan Solutions' Executive Team: Sherry Little, Salvatore Mancini, Severn Miller & Mysore Nagaraja.
U.S. Senate Leaders Announce Federal Surface Transportation Program Reauthorization Blueprint
On May 25, Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA), Chairman of the Environment and Public Works Committee, Senator James Inhofe (R-OK), Ranking Member of the Committee, Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), Chairman of the Finance Committee and the Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee, and Senator David Vitter (R-LA), Ranking Member of the Subcommittee, announced a blueprint to reauthorize the nation's surface transportation programs entitled Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century (MAP-21). There is not yet specific legislative language.
The highlights:
- Funds programs at roughly the same amount of money per year, adjusted for inflation, as was authorized in 2005 by the last long-term transportation bill – about $339B over six years;
- Eliminates earmarks;
- Consolidates numerous programs to focus on key national goals and reduce duplicative and wasteful programs;
- Consolidates numerous programs into a more focused freight program that will improve the movement of goods;
- Creates the America Fast Forward program, which would increase the TIFIA loan program to $1B per year to give direct loans, loan guarantees and lines of credit to projects, including, for the first time, rural projects – all of which would result in an estimated $30B in additional transportation construction spending through the generation of private capital; and
- Expedites project delivery without sacrificing the environment or the rights of people to be heard.
With no current prospects for increasing federal transportation revenue streams, the gap between all sources of public funding for transportation infrastructure and the spending levels needed to just maintain that infrastructure is at minimum $134B through 2035, according to a University of Virginia report produced last year by a bipartisan panel of national leaders.
The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee plans to hold hearings on a draft within the next few weeks and to complete action before the July 4 recess. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staffers have been working on a companion bill and plan to release it this month. However, that bill is expected to reduce spending on highway and transit programs by as much as 30 percent.
The Senate is also considering stand-alone bills to create a national infrastructure bank that would be funded at $5B a year and to continue the President’s high speed rail initiative at $53B over six years.
USDOT Rejects Proposed Changes to $43B CA Bullet Train Project
Earlier this month, the California Legislative Analyst's Office determined that California’s $43B high speed rail project was poorly managed, faced potential long-term funding problems, and had a governing structure in need of sweeping reform. Until those issues could be addressed, analysts called on the rail authority to push back the construction deadline and consider relocating the initial segment to a major urban area where there was more potential for ridership. Analysts further recommended that the state legislature not spend any more money on the project if the changes in the route and construction schedule were not allowed. Federal transportation officials said they cannot postpone the deadline to start construction of the bullet train project or allow the state to move the first leg of the proposed system out of the Central Valley. Federal legislation set the 2012 deadline to use $3.1B in federal funding for the project's initial leg.
Feds Redistribute $2B for High Speed Rail Projects
In early May, the Obama administration announced the reallocation of $2B within the program to create a national high-speed rail network. The new grants include $795M for upgrades that would permit speeds of 160 mph in parts of the Northeast Corridor. The money became available when Florida Governor Rick Scott (R) opted not to accept funds that had been allocated to build high-speed rail between Tampa and Orlando. The new recipients can be found at http://www.dot.gov/affairs/2011/dot5711.html.
Bill Proposes Federal Takeover of Amtrak’s NE Corridor
U.S. House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman John Mica (R-FL) plans to propose legislation to place ownership of Amtrak’s 363-mile Northeast Corridor under the control of USDOT. Under the transfer, the government would seek bids from investors to develop and operate high-speed rail service in the corridor between Washington and Boston. Amtrak has already proposed spending more than $118B to bring a high-speed link between Washington and Boston over the next 30 years. Mica said that his proposal would cut that time by a third.
CT House Approves Route 11 Tolling
A bill that would authorize CT DOT to set up toll booths on a future $900M, four-lane highway extension of Route 11 to help pay a portion of the extension’s cost recently passed the state House of Representatives. The bill would authorize studies to support the tolling of Route 11. One study would examine the possibility of tolls as a funding mechanism and suggest how much Route 11 drivers should pay. The tolls would only apply to the new part of Route 11 connecting to Interstate 95 in Waterford. They would be discontinued once the construction bonds are paid off. The bill now goes to the state Senate. The effort is being led by Governor Dannel P. Malloy (D) and Congressman Joe Courtney (D).
Report Card on States’ Transportation Spending
A study that examined how states account for billions of transportation dollars spent annually found that most are not tracking how their investments are performing in six important areas. “Measuring Transportation Investments: The Road to Results,” released by the Pew Center on the States and the Rockefeller Foundation, evaluated whether states were setting goals and collecting data to better understand what they are accomplishing for the money spent on roads, highways, bridges, and bus and rail systems. The researchers reviewed data considered vital to economic growth and quality of life, including road safety, employers’ connections to their workers, and environmental stewardship.
Thirteen states —California, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, Oregon, Texas, Utah, Virginia and Washington — were found to be “leading the way” by adopting goals and performance measures to help them prioritize and spend more wisely on transportation. The District of Columbia and 18 states, including New York and New Jersey, got mixed report cards, and 19 states were found to be trailing behind. The report and individual state fact sheets can be accessed at http://www.pewcenteronthestates.org/initiatives_detail.aspx?initiativeID=85899358927.
WA State to Ask Voters for More Transportation Money
WA Governor Chris Gregoire (D) wants a new source of revenue to pay for transportation projects, warning that Washington state does not have the money for key expansions or road upkeep in the years to come. Gregoire is forming an advisory panel that will help develop a plan to take to the voters next year. Major projects around the state that need cash include the I-520 bridge linking Seattle and Bellevue, the Interstate 5 crossing over the Columbia River, and the North Spokane corridor. The state is also in search of a new revenue stream to support its ferry system, which faces a projected shortfall of $1B over the next decade.
USDOT Mediates Dispute Over Dulles Metro Station
USDOT Secretary Ray LaHood is trying to resolve a key dispute over the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport: the cost and location of the airport station. The station is to be part of the second leg of the extension, which would be locally funded and run to the airport and beyond to Loudoun County. The cost difference between the airport station being built above ground in front of the daily parking garage and being built underground and 600 feet closer to the terminal is approximately $330M. Local officials are concerned about the cost to local taxpayers and toll road users. However, the airports authority financial analysis shows that the award of a USDOT low-interest TIFIA loan is the critical element to the price of the financing plan and the tolls. The authority is requesting a loan that would be substantially larger than previous ones under the program. Tolls on the Dulles Toll Road would have to double to $4 in 2015 to pay the loan; without the loan, tolls would have to rise to at least $5 and increase to more than $10 in 2020. Secretary LaHood, whose approval is required for the loan, has asked a working group among the players to report within 30 days.
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