Transportation for America’s Principles for Infrastructure Investment

Dear Transportation for America Members:

Transportation for America shares the goal of the Trump Administration and members of Congress on both sides of the aisle for reinvesting in our nation’s infrastructure.  Transportation systems have a profound impact on our lives and communities. All Americans understand that the deteriorating state of our transportation infrastructure limits economic opportunity.  Expediting the critical rebuilding of infrastructure like roads, bridges, transit systems and other investments that improve shared mobility access and strengthen our diverse, multimodal transportation network will guarantee a prosperous future for all Americans.

Today, we are sharing the following principles essential to developing an infrastructure package with the Administration and members of the 115^thCongress.  These principles will foster new opportunities by connecting communities, creating jobs and securing long-term economic growth. Our goal is to move the national conversation beyond the breadth and cost of an infrastructure program to include an examination of which projects we are investing in and why. Our principles are simple and sensible:

1. Increase real funding
2. Fix the infrastructure we’ve already built
3. Make sure that any new infrastructure is selected through competitive processes, is locally driven, and has clear and specific benefits.
4. Measure the performance of investments to ensure accountability.

These principles will not only serve to help guide investment, they will also help federal, state, and local agencies, as well as taxpayers, judge the success of these investments. Through accountability, we can ensure limited dollars are used wisely.

Please feel free to share these principles through your professional and social media networks.  If you have questions, or would like to discuss these principles, please contact Alicia Orosco, our program manager for membership and outreach at alicia.orosco@t4america.org or at (202) 971-3907.

Sincerely,

Kevin F. Thompson
Director, Transportation for America

1. Provide real funding

We need real federal funding, not just new ways to borrow money or sell off existing assets, to rebuild our transportation systems. Historically, economic development and opportunity have depended on federal investments in transportation that connect communities and allow businesses to bring goods to market. Direct federal investment funded the construction of our highways, bridges, and transit systems, creating economic opportunities. Today, deteriorating transportation infrastructure—the result of years of reduced federal investment—is a roadblock to continued economic growth. Real funding, invested according to the principles outlined here, will rebuild the nation’s transportation infrastructure and restore economic opportunity.

2. Fix the existing system first

We must immediately fix the transportation system we have and fund needed repairs to aging infrastructure. If we have a house with a leaky roof, it’s only prudent to fix the roof before building a new addition. Our transportation systems are no different.

Congress should dedicate federal transportation formula dollars to maintenance to make sure the system is returned to a state of good repair, is resilient, and works for all users; before funding new projects that bring years of additional maintenance costs. The application of federal performance measures to both the state and metro area programs would help prioritize needs and ensure that the greatest of them are addressed first.

3. Build smart new projects

At a time when transportation resources are scarce, it is critical that funds go only to the best new projects. Competition, local control, and objective evaluation can ensure that federal funds flow to the projects that deliver the greatest benefit to communities. When communities are given the opportunity to compete for federal funds, they work harder to put forward projects that maximize return on investment, provide creative solutions, and involve a diverse range of stakeholders. Congress should direct new federal transportation dollars through competitive processes, such as the TIGER and transit Capital Investment Grant programs, which are accessible directly to city, county, regional, and state governments. Merely adding new funding into existing and outdated formula funding programs will not deliver the transformative projects that deliver long-term economic growth.

4. Measure success

Investments in transportation are not an end in and of themselves. They are a means to foster economic development and improve all Americans’ access to jobs and opportunity. Agencies should be held accountable by evaluating how well their investments help achieve their regions’ goals. Newly available data and tools allow agencies to measure—better than ever before—how well transportation networks connect people to jobs and other necessities. The federal government should harness these tools so that state departments of transportation and metropolitan planning organizations can ensure that federally funded investments are effectively connecting people to economic opportunity.