AT LONG LAST : ALTHOUGH THE RECENTLY ENACTED SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BILL PROVIDES RECORD LEVELS OF FEDERAL FUNDING...

This article discusses the distribution of funds from the 2005 the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU). The discussion looks at SAFETEA-LU from the dynamics of donor and donee states to the earmarks given to important highway and public transportation projects. The bill, which allocated nearly 79.4 percent of its $286.5 budget to highway projects and about 18.5 percent for public transportation, marked about 2.2 percent ($6.3 billion) of its funding for highway safety programs. Under the category of “Projects of National and Regional Significance”, the article lists 24 projects, indicating the state(s) involved, project description, and amount of money allocated. A second chart titled “National Corridor Infrastructure Improvement Program” lists 33 projects of significance. The article names a few of the specific highway projects earmarked for special funding, such as $200 million for the Washington State DOT’s Alaskan Way Viaduct and Seawall Replacement; $125 million for the Alameda Corridor East project in Alameda County, California; finally, the additional capacity lanes that have been planned for Virginia’s I-81 have been designated to get about $100 million. The bill has also set aside quite a bit of funding for border region infrastructure to help facilitate cross-border cargo movement between the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Environmental organizations such as the Sierra Club have expressed some discomfort with certain regulations accompanying SAFETEA-LU, however, as it attempts to expedite the role of NEPA in the approval process for transportation projects by limiting the amount of time allowed for legal cases to be brought against the DOT for possible violations. The article also describes the stimulation this bill introduces for the public-private partnership market.