STATEMENT OF
THE HONORABLE JOHN D. PORCARI
DEPUTY SECRETARY OF TRANSPORTATION
BEFORE THE
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE
FEBRUARY 23, 2010
Chairman Oberstar, Ranking Member Mica and Members of the Committee I want to thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to discuss the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) accomplishments in implementing the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (Recovery Act). February 17th marks the one-year anniversary of this hallmark legislation and I am pleased to report that much has been accomplished to improve transportation infrastructure throughout the Nation.
Overall, the Recovery Act provided $48.1 billion for transportation programs to be used for improvements to our Nation’s highways and bridges, transit systems, airports, railways, and shipyards. To date we have obligated $36 billion on more than 13,600 projects nationwide. Nearly 25% of these funds have already been expended as projects get underway and move towards completion – creating jobs throughout the transportation sector. This is substantial progress in a relatively short amount of time – made possible in part because of the Recovery Act’s reliance on DOT’s existing formula-based structures and authorities.
Improving Highways
The single largest investment of Transportation Recovery Act dollars – $27.5 billion – was targeted at improving highways and bridges. As we approach the one-year anniversary, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has approved 11,981 highway projects in total. More than 2,160 of these projects have been completed and over 7,600 are currently underway.
Many of these projects will have a direct impact on the safety of our highways. For example, the Doyle Drive Replacement project in San Francisco, California will help improve the safety for nearly 91,000 drivers every day. When completed in 2013, this billion-dollar project, which relies on more than $100 million in Recovery Act funding, will replace the 73-year-old Doyle Drive protecting the route – a key economic artery for the Bay Area – against earthquake damage.
On the east coast, safety on Connecticut’s Merritt Parkway is also being improved. Nearly $70 million in Recovery Act funding will widen shoulders and install or update guard rails along 9.3 miles of one of the East Coast’s most congested commuter routes. Such improvements will enhance the safety for the estimated 60,000 drivers who use the parkway daily.
The Caldecott Tunnel near Oakland, is using $197.5 million in Recovery Act funds to add a fourth tunnel to ease congestion in its existing three tunnels – which carry an estimated 160,000 daily drivers on six lanes. This $420 million project will significantly reduce traffic congestion in the Bay area by adding a new tunnel to carry two new lanes as well as numerous safety features like emergency walkways and escape passages.
The Recovery Act was based on the need to help spur economic recovery, which is at the heart of San Bernardino’s I-215 Widening Project. This $800 million project relies on $128 million in ARRA funds to add two new lanes to I-215 in downtown San Bernardino, which will improve access to local businesses. It will also ease congestion on a route serving an estimated 83,000 daily drivers currently – but predicted to grow to 130,000 drivers in the next 20 years.
These projects represent more than infrastructure improvements – these are employing people in communities throughout the Nation. Already FHWA has funded $722 million in contractor payroll from Recovery Act projects.
Improving Transit Systems
The Recovery Act provided $8.4 billion for to improving transit systems. During the past year, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has approved the purchase of more than 11,000 bus and rail vehicles. Many of these will replace buses and other vehicles that have surpassed their useful life. At the same time, these purchases support American manufacturing jobs. FTA has also approved construction of 1,637 bus and passenger shelters and the construction and renovation of more than 850 transit facilities and stations.
Many of these grant awards advance the President's "Green Economy" objectives as well as produce new jobs. Link Transit, which operates in economically distressed counties in north central Washington State, is the first public transit agency in the nation to receive funding from the Recovery Act for a new generation of clean-fuel buses and other equipment. On February 4th, Secretary LaHood announced that the Federal Transit Administration made a $3 million award as part of a $100 million competitive transit grant program funded by the Recovery Act. The program enables transit agencies to invest in projects that reduce greenhouse gases and put more energy-efficient buses on the road. Link Transit’s award will put cutting-edge technology for battery-powered, zero-emission circulator buses and charging stations in operational use. These charging stations will be built locally, providing jobs for folks in central Washington State hard-hit by the recession.
Over the past year, FTA has spent $622 million of its Recovery Act funds on preventative maintenance which has maintained public transit service and transit jobs. For example, Recovery Act funds were critical to assisting the Cooperative Alliance for Seacoast Transportation (COAST), the regional transit agency in the Portsmouth, New Hampshire area – to address preventative maintenance needs by funding COAST’s three-person maintenance team over the past year. Based on the new methodology for calculating job retention and creation, COAST has sustained at least four full time equivalent positions through the expenditure of its Recovery Act funds – critical for a small community.
Improving our infrastructure is only one focus. Improving transit safety also continues to be one of our top transportation priorities. Rail transit has the potential for catastrophic accidents resulting in multiple injuries, considerable property damage, and heightened public concern. Following the recent tragic accidents in Washington D.C., Boston, and San Francisco it is clear we need to strengthen the safety oversight of transit rail operations. The Administration’s transit safety bill will implement a comprehensive safety oversight strategy to establish common safety standards nationwide and to ensure the safety of our Nation’s transit riders and I am pleased that the Chairman has introduced a transit safety bill.
Improving Airports
The Recovery Act provided the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) with a total of $1.3 billion in additional resources to address needed improvements at the Nation’s airports. The majority of these funds – $1.1 billion – were provided for airport improvement grants; the remainder can be used to upgrade FAA-owned infrastructure. Over the past year, FAA has awarded 100% of the airport grant funds on a total of 360 projects at 334 airport locations. More than 80% of these funds were used for 288 runway, taxiway and apron construction projects totaling $889 million and supporting jobs at 265 airport locations nationwide. Other projects include an additional $85 million directed towards improvements at 23 small commercial service airports, replacing decades-old infrastructure and improving facility efficiency for travelers at airports in smaller communities. FAA estimates that all together these efforts resulted in approximately 6 thousand jobs Nationwide so far. Perhaps even more impressive FAA reports that because the Recovery Act provided resources through FAA’s existing programs, some of the workers had paychecks in their hands within the first 90 days following passage of the Act.
One of the major airport projects is the Washington Dulles International Airport (IAD), in Chantilly, Virginia. This $15 million project rehabilitated a portion of Runway 1C/19C from the south end to approximately the mid-point of the runway. The project removed and replaced the existing concrete that was almost 50 years old. The project also completed three connecting taxiways between the passenger terminal apron and the new west runway. These taxiways are critical for easy access to the new runway, and will reduce aircraft taxi time and fuel consumption. Work started in mid-July, 2009 and the runway reopened in early December, 2009. In addition to the employment impacts, and reduction in aircraft taxi time and fuel consumption, the project will reduce airport maintenance costs and enable more efficient movement of aircraft, thereby reducing delays.
$13.1 million in Recovery Act funds were used to rehabilitate the runway at the Omaha-Epply Airfield (OMA) in Omaha, Nebraska. The project removes and replaces the existing concrete pavement, originally constructed in 1950, on a portion of runway 14R/32L and is part of a larger effort to completely rehabilitate the longest commercial runway and several associated taxiways. Several phases of the runway rehabilitation project started in March, 2009. The ARRA portion is substantially complete.
Recovery Act funds have also been used to fund a terminal apron rehabilitation at the Reno/Tahoe International Airport (RNO) in Reno, Nevada. The $6.3 million project will complete a critical portion of the terminal apron serving aircraft terminal gates. The project started in July 2009 and is 60 percent physically complete. This phase of construction was originally planned to begin in late 2010, but the availability of Recovery Act funding allowed the project to proceed last summer.
Tower and Radar Control facilities have also been replaced with Recovery Act funds. $14 million was used to replace the tower and Terminal Radar Approach Control Facility at Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. To date, $14 million has been obligated toward the construction project and work on the project began in December 2009. Roughly 140 jobs over two years are anticipated, yielding considerable benefit to the community’s depressed economy. Once completed, the new facility will enhance safety by improving the line-of-sight for air traffic controllers. It will be a more cost-efficient facility, thanks to new energy-efficient materials that cut down on heating and ventilation costs. Administrative costs will be lower than before, generating additional savings for the Federal Government every year.
The Recovery Act included an exemption to the Alternative Minimum Tax that has enabled airports to leverage Recovery Act investments for even more benefit. Over the past year, 75 transactions representing about $8.9 billion in airport bonds have been sold at 38 different airports. This has resulted in reduced financing costs to these airports that can now be used toward airport development to reduce long-term debt. The savings to airports from this provision is estimated at $635M.
Expanding Rail Opportunities
Of all the contributions in the Recovery Act, the continuation of efforts to establish our Nation’s high speed rail capability ranks among the most exciting. The $8 billion provided to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) represents a substantial down payment on developing or laying the groundwork for 13 new, large scale high-speed rail corridors in 31 states across the country.
The majority of the dollars will go toward developing new, large-scale high-speed rail programs. This includes projects in Florida, which are receiving up to $1.25 billion to develop a new high-speed rail corridor between Tampa and Orlando with trains running up to 186 miles per hour and at an average speed of 100 mph, and in California, which is receiving up to $2.25 billion for its planned project to connect Los Angeles to San Francisco and points in between with trains running up to 220 miles per hour.
FRA received almost $57 billion in project proposals for the initial $8 billion in funds awarded – demonstrating strong interest in the development of high-speed rail throughout the county.
The Recovery Act also addressed the needs of Amtrak providing $1.3 billion that doubled the size of Amtrak’s capital investment program. Amtrak is using these funds to achieve a state of good repair for its critical infrastructure and assets that will benefit Amtrak passengers with increased capacity, improved operational reliability and increased passenger comfort and accessibility at stations.
Assisting Small Shipyards
The Recovery Act included $100 million to assist small shipyards with infrastructure improvements to be administered by the Maritime Administration (MARAD). To date, MARAD has approved 70 grants including a grant to Pacific Shipyards International in Honolulu that has allowed them to provide employment to 30 people on the ARRA funded dry-dock project. The Aker Philadelphia Shipyard is using Recovery funds for a first-year skilled apprentice program. The Guam Shipyard purchased a plasma cutting machine and a plate roller with the help of Recovery Act funds. The plasma cutter will allow Guam Shipyard to cut steel that was previously cut by hand or cut on the mainland requiring a longer lead time. Guam Shipyard provides service to the military where a quick turn-around is essential. The plasma cutter and plate roller will advance the yard’s ability to respond quickly. The erection of a new Recovery Act funded 400 ton Travelift will soon begin at Steiner Shipyard in Bayou La Batre, Alabama. As offshore supply boats and fishing vessels grow larger, the new travelift will enable Steiner Shipyard to compete in the larger vessel market. Finally, Recovery Act funds provided to Eastern Shipbuilding in Panama City, Florida will allow the yard to purchase an Ogden Panel Line. The panel line will enable Eastern to assemble and weld steel more efficiently, with a quality of welds far superior to welds done by hand. The overhead cranes will provide a safer method to handle large steel plates. The yard estimates that this investment could save up to $1,000,000 in the construction of a 300-foot vessel because of increased efficiencies. These are just a few examples of improvements to small shipyards made possible through the Recovery Act.
Discretionary “TIGER” Grants
Last week Secretary LaHood announced the 51 award recipients of the $1.5 billion TIGER Discretionary Grant Program that was provided in the Recovery Act for surface transportation projects of significance nationally, regionally, or within a major metropolitan area. We received over 1,400 TIGER Grant applications totaling nearly $60 billion. We have been very impressed with the high quality of the applications and their innovative approaches. Many of the TIGER awards fund integrated multi-modal projects, and other projects that cannot be funded through existing transportation formula programs. With applications requesting a total of over $60 billion in applications, fewer than 3% of the projects could be funded. I hope Congress will continue the TIGER program in the context of any jobs legislation and work to enact the President’s new National Infrastructure Innovation and Finance Fund proposal which builds upon TIGER and will encourage future innovative thinking.
Enhancing the Dialogue with the Public and Reporting Jobs Data
In addition to jobs creation and other economic benefits, the Recovery Act included provisions that have changed the way the Federal government communicates information about its programs to the American people. The Act calls for unprecedented transparency so the public can fully understand what is being accomplished with Recovery Act funds. In addition, Section 1512 calls upon Recovery Act fund recipients to report on the number of jobs created on individual projects. We have now completed two rounds of recipient jobs reporting. Based on the numbers reported during each round, we are averaging about 41,000 direct full time equivalent jobs reported for transportation programs nationwide based on the recent October – December 2009 reporting period. I want to emphasize that the jobs estimates included in this report are only those directly associated with the individual transportation projects and do not include the many other jobs created as due to increased demand on supply chains and other supporting services. When these indirect jobs are also taken into account, it is clear that the Recovery Act resources have made a significant impact on jobs and we expect these numbers to hold steady as some of the larger transportation projects continue to come on-line.
Future Bill
As President Obama made clear in his State of the Union address, his number one priority in 2010 is accelerating the pace of job creation. Transportation is an important part of his plan to put Americans back to work. The President has called for new investments in a wide range of infrastructure, such as highways, transit, rail, aviation, and water, designed to get out the door as quickly as possible. We think the efforts achieved in transportation during this first year demonstrate that transportation is an area where continued successes can be achieved and I urge the Congress to consider supporting future jobs creation legislation.
Again, thank you for the opportunity to share the Department’s accomplishments in meeting the goals of the Recovery Act. I will be happy to answer your questions.