What the $105 Billion Transportation Bill Means for RI
Wednesday, July 04, 2012
President Obama on Friday is expected to sign a $105 billion transportation bill that local supporters say will help create and protect construction jobs and give Rhode Island greater surety over federal investment in highway and transit in the state.
The package basically freezes federal funding at current levels for the first year and then increases Rhode Island’s share slightly in the second year. The state is expected to receive about $240 million per year in 2013 and 2014, according to Senator Jack Reed’s office.
The bill also consolidates multiple programs to cut red tape and provide the Rhode Island Department of Transportation (RIDOT) with an average of $212 million a year for highways, roads, bridges, and mass-transit. Reed helped author a key portion of the bill that will provide Rhode Island with an estimated increase of about $5 million in mass-transit funding. The state will continue to receive about $3 in federal highway funding for every dollar paid in federal gas taxes.GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST
“Creating jobs must be our number one priority and this measure will support thousands of jobs in Rhode Island and help drive our economy forward,” Reed said last week. “It gives the state and the construction industry the certainty they need to plan transportation projects and put people to work. This is a smart investment in upgrading Rhode Island’s network of roads, bridges, transit, and other infrastructure.
Without Congressional action, federal funds for infrastructure projects could have expired by the end of June. The bill was also attached to a freeze in student loan rates, which were slated to double on July 1.
“I was pleased to support a bipartisan transportation bill that will provide $211 million in funding for infrastructure projects in Rhode Island over the next year, and I am delighted that Republicans and Democrats were able to reach an agreement that will prevent student loan interest rates from doubling on July 1st,” Congressman David Cicilline said this week..
But while Rhode Island is also expected to benefit additional funding to help finance major projects, such as the replacement of the I-95 Viaduct in Providence and investments at Port of Davisville and the Port of Providence, not everyone is supportive of the legislation.
According to Phineas Baxandall, RIPIRG’s Senior Transportation Analyst, the country has been without a new transportation bill since 2009 and the legislation only stalls any new reforms for two years.
“With America’s bridges and roads seriously neglected in past years, the bill removes already insufficient measures to ensure states ‘fix it first,’ rather than diverting funds towards building new and wider highways while neglecting existing roads and bridges,” Baxandall said. “The weak provisions the bill includes to ensure adequate repair lack teeth and potential accountability measures could not begin until after the bill expires.”
Baxandall continued: “The bill fails to increase the portion of transportation funds directed to public transit and allocates no money for high-speed rail. It reduces the tax-deductibility of commuting costs for transit riders and ends performance criteria for allocating loans.”
