Long-Term Economic Benefits and Impacts from Federal Infrastructure and Public Transportation Investment
Testimony of Acting Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Christopher A. Coes
before the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs
July 31, 2024
Chairman Brown, Ranking Member Scott, and members of the committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify today and for your leadership and partnership as we work to deliver projects to build a stronger, safer transportation system that connects the American people to jobs, to housing, to educational opportunities, and to one another.
DOT has been working tirelessly executing the vision of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). Because of this generational investment, the Biden-Harris Administration has announced $461 billion of awards, funding over 60,000 specific projects in all 50 states, D.C., the territories, and for Tribes. As I travel across the country, these headlines don’t come close to telling the full story about IIJA’s significance.
Nationally, 47% of the US population spend more than 15% of their annual income on transportation. IIJA isn’t just an investment in infrastructure, it’s an investment in our economy and workforce, in housing, and in our Nation’s families. IIJA has allowed us to invest over $91 billion into restoring and upgrading our Nation’s transit service, creating thousands of jobs, and expanding access to even more. Bringing transportation, jobs, and housing together improves access to transportation while supporting local and regional economic development. In April, FTA announced the award of nearly $18 million to 20 projects in 16 states in Transit Oriented Development discretionary funds to support community efforts to improve access and increase affordable housing near transit.
It’s also critical that transit is available to everyone, regardless of ability. That’s why the All Stations Accessibility Program (ASAP) is so important, allowing us to upgrade and modernize legacy transit stations built before the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990 so they are accessible to people with disabilities. Last month, we saw the groundbreaking for the first project to reach construction under this program – an upgrade to six transit stations in Philadelphia to make them fully accessible and provide access to everyday destinations.
We’re also investing in projects to reconnect communities, including through the Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods (RCN) Program. For example, in Columbus, Ohio, we’re funding the development of a bus rapid transit (BRT) corridor along West Broad Street, which currently divides disadvantaged communities and is one of the most dangerous roadways in Ohio. Once completed, we expect that the availability of a reliable BRT system will result in more affordable mobility options, fewer pedestrian deaths, and greater private investment along the corridor. This project is just one example of how the transit investments are helping transform disadvantaged communities into thriving ones.
More broadly, we’re exceeding our Justice40-covered programs goal, with 55% of the benefits from awards going to disadvantaged communities, particularly rural and Tribal. For example, at the border of Montana and Idaho, we’re funding the rehabilitation of a critical segment of Interstate 90 to enable it to better withstand increased harsh weather events and make it safer and more reliable for travelers and vulnerable populations nearby. We're also replacing rural bridges in South Carolina that are disrupting vital farm-to-market and commercial freight routes with existing load restrictions due to their age and condition.
In March, we experienced a painful reminder of the criticality of our Nation’s bridges to our daily lives and to our economy when the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore collapsed after being struck by a container ship. We worked rapidly with multiple partners to reopen the Federal channel and Port of Baltimore in less than 100 days and continue to work with them on rebuilding the Key Bridge. Even before that incident, we have been working with communities across the country to rehabilitate and replace aging critical bridges. Earlier this month, DOT awarded more than $5 billion to support 13 large bridge construction projects, including $251 million for the I-95 Bridge over Lake Marion in South Carolina, $550 million for the I-10 Mobile River Bridge in Alabama, and $251 million to repair a cluster of bridges on I-95 in Rhode Island, to name a few. These will join significant projects that are already underway. For instance, we expect construction to begin soon on upgrades to the Brent Spence Bridge at the border between Ohio and Kentucky, which carries $400 billion in freight across the Ohio River each year.
I’m excited to see some of the earliest IIJA investments break ground, begin construction, and start to deliver benefits for the communities that they serve. We are doing our part to accelerate projects, including establishing a new Project Delivery Center of Excellence, streamlining processes by simplifying and combining complementary notices of funding opportunity (NOFOs), and providing extensive technical assistance, especially for rural and Tribal communities. On behalf of Secretary Buttigieg and the entire Department, we appreciate your ongoing partnership and shared commitment to delivering a world-class transportation system for the American people.
Thank you and I look forward to your questions.