FHTF-RAIAPS Analysis

Proposition 35 simply gives state and local government the flexibility to use private sector engineers and architects to complete long overdue highway, rail transit and other projects sooner, safely, and at $2.5 billion savings to taxpayers. Supporters of Proposition 35 highlight a few important points, including thousands of overdue highway and rail transit projects that must be completed to alleviate traffic and prepare us for the next quake. In order to complete these thousands of projects both Caltrans and private sector engineers and architects are needed to complete those projects. However, Caltrans bureaucrats stand in the way of accomplishing this by severely restricting government's ability to contract with the private sector. Proposition 35 is the answer to these problems. Proposition 35 is

While the Federal-Aid Highway act of 1956 created the U.S. Interstate system and brought a nation together, the Federal-Aid Highway act of 1973 would later create division in federal and state political parties over future funding concerns. In the short run, President Nixon considered this act as a positive step for transportation and the economy. However, in the long run, this act led to the eroding of HTF’s, leaving both state and federal government debating over how to proceed in funding a transportation infrastructure that is at present time slowly crumbling. Political differences between federal and state agencies have brought the modernization process of the transportation infrastructure to a snail’s pace. In addition, the lengthy

Despite the tremendous economic success in Texas and its overall well-being, the state continues to face its nonstandard set of challenges that must be addressed immediately. Certainly, the most pressing issue is a deteriorating transportation infrastructure, which requires innovation, long-range planning and, of course, investment (Button & Reggiani, 2011). The following study focuses on the deteriorating transportation infrastructure as a major issue facing the state of Texas. The report will also discuss the positions of two major Texas political parties (Republican and Democratic) on the issue. It further explains the ways of their addressing it. Next, it will discuss the overall goals, the position, the level of lobbying and the

According Edmonton’s 2012 budget report, almost all municipalities across Canada face a significant infrastructure deficit. Neighborhood renewal occurred periodically with funding from other orders of government, yet it failed to address the full life-cycle requirements of preventative maintenance, rehabilitation, and reconstruction. Over time, the condition of roads, sidewalks and sewers deteriorated, resulting in more frequent collapsed sewers, increased sidewalk hazards, and dramatically increased maintenance like pothole repairs. The Office of Infrastructure and Funding Strategy highlighted the need for ongoing funding for neighborhood infrastructure to overcome an anticipated $2.2 billion funding gap in neighborhood roads and related infrastructure.

Introduction: Federal grant agendas offer state and local governments varying steps of flexibility over the use of grant funds. For example, block grants provide only extensive factors for using those funds, leaving state and local government’s significant liberty when they make spending results. By contrast, state and local governments face more spending limitations on how they use categorical formula grants. For example, definite standards govern the types of roads that state governments may improve using federal highway grant funds. Though, among all probable road schemes that meet the recognized standards, states are normally able to select which ones to fund. Project grants deliver state and local governments the minimum tractability over

In this detailed report, essential actors such as the Transportation, Natural Resources, and California Environmental Protection Agency provide ongoing projects they are developing which collectively helps California attain an improved infrastructure plan. In recent events, Californians passed Measure M in 2016 by a 71.5% margin which will serve as sales tax to “improver freeway traffic flow/safety; repair potholes/sidewalks; repave local streets”(Metro). An unpopular decision that has affected commuters was the recent gas tax signed into effect by governor Jerry Brown on November 1st 2017. This increase in tax , formerly known as the Senate 1 Bill, increased gasoline prices by 12 cents to help fund the Department of Motor Vehicles and the Department of the California Highway Patrol. Over the course of a decade, this legislative package aims to collects $54 Billion to fix roads, freeways and bridges. In terms of distribution, $200,000,000 of the funds will go into road maintenance, $100,000,000 of the funds will go to the Active Transportation Program, and $400,000 of the funds will go to maintenance and rehabilitation (State of California

Over the years, lawmakers didn’t make big investments into infrastructure in the U.S. because they didn’t know how to fund infrastructure without raising taxes or adding to the national deficit. So, the root cause of a problem like neglected infrastructure in the U.S. stems from American political processes. Political processes are basically how something gets done. In 2009, fiscally conservative Republicans turned down a $478 billion investment plan for infrastructure (Berman, 2015). But, I don’t think that lawmakers can keep putting off on investments in public safety because the U.S. is losing economic competitiveness, jobs, and growth. One of Trump’s biggest campaign promises was revitalizing U.S. roads, bridges, and airports. Trump says that his $550 billion infrastructure plan will grow the U.S. economy and create more jobs (Great Again, 2015). Trump’s also planning on private-sector investors funding this project with tax credits to give investors a return on their investments. I think it’s about time for a more reliable and efficient transportation system. For example, in 2007, the I-35W bridge in Minneapolis collapsed during rush hour, killing 13 people and injuring 145 people (Change, 2007). Faulty design led to the bridge collapse. One more example is an Amtrak train that derailed in Philadelphia in 2015, killing 8 people and injuring 200 people (Calvert & Loftus, 2015). The train accelerated toward a curve but investigators didn’t know if the engineer caused the train to speed up, if there was a mechanical error, or if there was something about the track that cased the crash. Airports in the U.S. are also operating beyond the capacity that they were intended to manage and that’s why terminals are crowded and there’s longer waiting times to get through customs especially at international airports. One time, Joe Bidden even compared LaGuardia Airport in New York to “some

You might have heard recently that the United States Trust Fund is currently experiencing a solvency issue due to an increased cost associated with financing road projects. The members of the United States Congress, as well as numerous other influential leaders, have been discussing means of addressing this “broken” Highway Trust Fund. This issue has been consistently thrown on the back burner for some time and due to this procrastination an issue that would have been an easy fix a few years ago has now ballooned into a much larger issue. Lately it seems like every time I turn on the news I have seen news reports of bridges collapsing and pot holes getting worse, it scary to think that I will one day have children driving on these roads if

Recently, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist and House Majority Leader Tom DeLay have been touting the generous occupation development they claim will happen if Congress would simply spend an additional $280 billion or more in government citizen cash on proposed transportation ventures. In a February public statement, Frist expresses the 2004

Throughout the course of history there have been many advances in the world of infrastructure, mostly occurring in the 1800’s and the 1900’s. Infrastructure is defined as the basic physical and organizational structure needed for the operation of a society or enterprise, or the services and facilities necessary for an economy to function. This definition shows how important infrastructure is to people’s lives today. It affects how people live, travel, and communicate with one another. Three men who made huge contributions in the world of infrastructure were Robert Moses, Richard Ravitch and Othmar Hermann Ammann. All three of these men were involved in designing numerous landmarks, highways, bridges, tunnels, and other forms of infrastructure that today we take for granted. Although all of these men were involved in infrastructure in the New York metropolitan area, their contributions, personalities, and the public’s opinion of them were all different.

This interview will provide a firsthand look from Ray LaHood who was the secretary of transportation during the first Obama administration. This looks at the political views and constraints around rebuilding roads and bridges. There are around 70,000 bridges and thousands of miles of roadways that need repair. One of the main issues is, politicians do not want to spend

According to many community members, the state government should do a better job of allocating their funds. They seem to spend it on senseless projects that are just not working. Most of taxpayers’ money in Hawaii is now going to the Rail Transit Project. It’s a multibillion dollar project to build a public train transit to alleviate the traffic in Hawaii (HART). Many Hawaii residents believe that this is a waste of the state’s money. The train will little to no effect on the traffic in Hawaii, yet most of the local tax money is going towards that (LWV). Brook Parker, a resident of Hawaii for over 50 years stated, “The rail project is stupid. Tax payer dollars could go to something so much more beneficial like building more public housing, getting homeless off the street, or making cities safer. The state needs to wise up with their funds.”

MAP-21 provides an array of provisions designed to increase innovation and improve efficiency, effectiveness, and accountability in the planning, design, engineering, construction and financing of transportation projects. Building on FHWA’s “Every Day Counts” initiative, MAP-21 changes will speed up the project delivery process, saving time and money for individuals and businesses, and yielding broad benefits nationwide. Some MAP-21 provisions are designed to improve efficiency in project delivery, broadening the ability for States to acquire or preserve right-of-way for a transportation facility prior to completion of the review process required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA), providing for a demonstration program to streamline the relocation process by permitting a lump sum payment for the acquisition and relocation if elected by the displaced person, enhancing contracting efficiencies, and encouraging the use of innovative technologies and practices.

Our transportation system, quite arguably, may embody our most vital system, as Infrastructure and Democracy clarifies, “access is the hallmark of a great infrastructure” (Jones, Reinecke). By great contrast, our roads remain a current issue. 42 percent of America’s urban highways remain congested, costing the United States 101 billion dollars in wasted time and fuel each year. Also, the32 percent of roads, in poor or mediocre condition, cost the average traveler $324 per year (American Infrastructure Report Card). Unfortunately, updating the highway systems seems longer than it may seem, as the Government Accountability Office (GAO) estimates that from proposal to completion most highways will need nine to nineteen years to fix (Leduc, Wilson 129). In addition to the roads, our bridges are failing just as much. One of every nine bridges within the United States is categorized as structurally deficient. The average bridge 42 years old, and in order to eliminate the bridge renovation backlog, our country would need to invest twenty and a half billion dollars until 2028 (American Infrastructure Report Card). However, in 2013, the United States only invested 12.8 billion dollars in bridge reconstruction and repair (American Infrastructure Report Card). Also, our countries transit

With the overall objective in mind of providing public transportation to all Americans, we have to understand all of the different modes of transportation that need to be reconstructed and funded properly. America is a geographically diverse nation and all need to be taken into account to meet the growing demand of transportation over these differing regions. First off, we have to address states that must begin to rely on ferry transport across bodies of water. The ferry system needs adequate funding so that commuters can cross bodies of water such as the Puget Sound and Chesapeake Bay. Docks, landings, ferry boats, and employees will all need funding to ensure that this happens. Water public transportation is an unutilized territory and in this growing age we hope to help it strive. We plan to rebuild ferry landings