Source: United States Senator for Washington State Patty Murray
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is the largest federal investment in public transit in history
ROADS AND BRIDGES: $110 billion to repair and replace roads, bridges, and major projects
PUBLIC TRANSIT: $39 billion to repair and upgrade aging infrastructure, modernize bus and rail fleets, make stations accessible to all users, and bring transit service to new communities
TRAINS: $66 billion for Amtrak repairs and expansion
Senator Murray: “Ultimately, the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will fix our aging infrastructure and ensure the federal government is supporting Washington state’s substantial investments in public transit to reduce emissions, increase accessibility, and mitigate congestion”
(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), senior member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, helped secure hundreds of millions in federal investments in public transportation and transit infrastructure as part of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. This includes $110 billion for roads, bridges, and major projects, $39 billion to modernize transit, $66 billion for rail, and more.
These investments make the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act makes the largest federal investment in public transit in history, as well as the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system. It will repair and modernize aging infrastructure, upgrade bus and rail fleets, make stations accessible to all riders, and create transportation services in new communities.
“Like anyone in our state who drives on our roads and bridges or rides our ferries, I know we are long overdue for a major investment in all of our transportation infrastructure,” said Senator Murray. “This will be the single largest investment in bridge repair since we built the interstate highway system, and the largest investment in public transit we’ve ever made. This is a generational investment in our infrastructure that will put people from across Washington state to work in good-paying union jobs to repair our roads and bridges and help everyone get to where they need to go. Ultimately, this bill will help fix our aging infrastructure and ensure the federal government is supporting Washington state’s substantial investments in public transit to reduce emissions, increase accessibility, and mitigate congestion.”
For more details on the transportation and transit infrastructure investments in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, see below.
Roads, Bridges, and Major Projects
Washington state has 321 bridges in poor condition, and nearly 5,000 in need of repair. Bridges in poor condition pose especially heightened challenges in rural communities, which often may rely on a single bridge for the passage of emergency service vehicles. 27% of Washington state roads are in poor condition, costing each motorist $659 per year due to driving on roads in need of repair. The bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will invest $110 billion of new funds for roads, bridges, and major projects, and reauthorize the surface transportation program for the next five years building on bipartisan surface transportation reauthorization bills passed out of committee earlier this year. This investment will repair and rebuild our roads and bridges with a focus on climate change mitigation, resilience, equity, and safety for all users, including cyclists and pedestrians. The bill includes a total of $40 billion of new funding for bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation, which is the single largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the interstate highway system. The bill also includes around $16 billion for major projects that are too large or complex for traditional funding programs but will deliver significant economic benefits to communities.
Based on formula funding alone, Washington state would expect to receive $4.7 billion for federal-aid highway apportioned programs and $605 million for bridge replacement and repairs, and be eligible for additional funds for each as well.
Public Transit
With a multibillion-dollar repair backlog in America’s public transit infrastructure, representing more than 24,000 buses, 5,000 rail cars, 200 stations, and thousands of miles of track, signals, and power systems in need of replacement. The legislation includes $39 billion of new investment to modernize transit, and improve accessibility for the elderly and people with disabilities. In total, the new investments and reauthorization provide $89.9 billion in guaranteed funding for public transit over the next five years. This is the largest Federal investment in public transit in history, and devotes a larger share of funds from surface transportation reauthorization to transit in the history of the programs. It will repair and upgrade aging infrastructure, modernize bus and rail fleets, and make stations accessible to all users through a new program with $1.75 billion in dedicated funding. It will replace thousands of transit vehicles, including buses, with clean, zero emission vehicles through an additional $5.75 billion, of which 5% is dedicated to training the transit workforce to maintain and operate these vehicles. And, it will benefit communities of color since these households are twice as likely to take public transportation and many of these communities lack sufficient public transit options.
Based on formula funding alone, Washington state would expect to receive $1.79 billion to improve public transportation options across the state, and be eligible for additional funds as well.
Capital Investment Grants Boost
In addition to providing a 30% increase to the base Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program, the bill provides a historic and supplementary $8 billion for CIG. Senator Murray has fought for months now to increase funding for CIG and the various projects it supports, including SoundTransit’s Lynnwood and Federal Way Link Extension projects. Senator Murray will continue to fight to ensure that these critical projects receive the funding that they need from both CIG funding sources. A full list of current Capital Investment Grant (CIG) Projects can be found HERE.
Passenger and Freight Rail
Unlike highways and transit, rail lacks a multi-year funding stream to address deferred maintenance, enhance existing corridors, and build new lines in high-potential locations, hurting the sustainability of the 3,032 miles of rail across Washington state. The legislation positions Amtrak and rail to play a central role in our transportation and economic future. This is the largest investment in passenger rail since the creation of Amtrak 50 years ago. The legislation invests $66 billion in rail to eliminate the Amtrak maintenance backlog, modernize the Northeast Corridor, and bring world-class rail service to areas outside the northeast and mid-Atlantic. Within these totals, $22 billion would be provided as grants to Amtrak, $24 billion as federal-state partnership grants for Northeast Corridor modernization, $12 billion for partnership grants for intercity rail service, including high-speed rail, $5 billion for rail improvement and safety grants, and $3 billion for grade crossing safety improvements.
Airports, Ports, and Waterways
The United States built modern aviation, but our airports lag far behind our competitors. According to some rankings, no U.S. airports rank in the top 25 of airports worldwide. Our ports and waterways need repair and reimagination too. The bill invests $17 billion in port infrastructure and $25 billion in airports to address repair and maintenance backlogs, reduce congestion and emissions near ports and airports, and drive electrification and other low-carbon technologies. Modern, resilient, and sustainable port, airport, and freight infrastructure will support U.S. competitiveness by removing bottlenecks and expediting commerce and reduce the environmental impact on neighboring communities.
Reconnecting Communities
Too often, past transportation investments divided communities or left out the people most in need of affordable transportation options. In particular, significant portions of the interstate highway system were built through Black neighborhoods. The legislation creates a first-ever program to reconnect communities divided by transportation infrastructure. The program will fund planning, design, demolition, and reconstruction of street grids, parks, or other infrastructure through $1 billion of dedicated funding in addition to historic levels of major projects funding, for which these investments could also qualify.
Safety
America has one of the highest road fatality rates in the industrialized world. The legislation invests $11 billion in transportation safety programs, including a new, $5 billion Safe Streets for All program to help states and localities reduce crashes and fatalities in their communities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians. It includes a new program to provide grants to community owned utilities to replace leaky and obsolete cast iron and bare steel natural gas pipelines, some of which are over 100 years old. It will more than double funding directed to programs that improve the safety of people and vehicles in our transportation system, including highway safety, truck safety, and pipeline and hazardous materials safety.
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