This issue of ITE Journal is focused on the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, otherwise known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (IIJA/BIL). This $1.2 trillion legislation is a two-for-one infrastructure investment because it includes a reauthorization of the surface transportation federal-aid program as well as a one-time “new” infrastructure investment of $550 billion. It is also much more than a “highway’ or “transportation” bill, it is truly an infrastructure investment, with funding flowing to many different types of infrastructure, including energy, water, and broadband.
If all that seems a bit confusing we hope that
the article on page 24 will begin to take some of the mystery away. This is a very large piece of legislation—some 1,200 pages long—which continues and increases funding for many existing programs while creating many new polices and programs, as well. It is going to take some time to sort it all out, particularly for the many discretionary programs where the U.S. Department of Transportation (and other departments) will need to turn the legislative language into an operational program with application requirements and selection criteria.
Knowing that the implementation of this legislation is going to play out over many years, ITE has established an IIJA/BIL webpage at
www.ite.org/IIJA to provide you with the most up-to-date information on this influential legislation. Patterned after our successful approach in sharing COVID-19 resources, this is a curated page providing resources that originate from ITE, but complements them with many resources from others. We try to include those items that are most comprehensive and provide you with meaningful insights. To make it easier to quickly find what you are looking for, we have divided it into five parts. At the top are resources from ITE that are specific to our members’ interests. Below, we have a section on Safety, Roads, Bridges, and Transit—traditional areas of interest; a section on the broader infrastructure investment areas—energy, water, and broadband; a section on federal guidance and resources; and a section on insights and opinions. We will regularly update the page, placing the latest resources at the top of each section and labeling them as “new.” We hope this allows you to quickly access information you are looking for, and perhaps find some things that you were not expecting. We welcome your feedback. Please feel free to send items that you think warrant inclusion to Pam Goodell at pgoodel@ite.org.
While there are certainly aspects of the IIJA/BIL that could have been improved, this legislation did fulfill much ITE’s legislative agenda for new infrastructure legislation. It provides an increased emphasis and significant new investment in transportation safety, increases funding levels beyond what we would have imagined (albeit without creating a
sustainable source of funding), and provides additional support for the transformational technologies that will shape our future. However, there is still much work to do.
There will be many opportunities for ITE to weigh in individually and in coordination with our transportation partners to ensure that our voice is heard as the USDOT and others
move forward with the implementation of this legislation. We will try to make sure you are aware of those opportunities through Spotlite, e-Community, and our other communication channels. As always, you can reach me on the ITE e-Community or on Twitter: @JPaniatiITE.
This is from the director's message in the February issue of ITE Journal.