Transportation Advisory Council:
Transportation Infrastructure Announcement by New London Parking Authority
RE: National Transportation & Infrastructure
You may have heard about the big $1.3 trillion spending bill that Congress considered recently. The highlights transportation wins—particularly for rail and transit are as follows:
The bill includes:
- $650 million for Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor account—a $322 million increase over last fiscal year’s spending level. Because Amtrak runs an operating profit on the NEC, that $650 million will go straight to crucial capital projects that affect the whole corridor;
- $1.5 billion for TIGER—a $1 billion increase over last fiscal year’s spending level;
- $250 million for the Federal-state partnership for State of Good Repair Program—a $225 million increase over last fiscal year’s spending level. This is perhaps the most important grant
program for the NEC, since it provides a federal match for the intra-state spending that needs to occur along the corridor to attack the backlog of projects;
- $592.5 million for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Grant Program—a $525 million increase over last fiscal year’s spending level. This is a competitive grant program that funds capital projects and safety investments. $250 million of the $592.5 million is set aside for the implementation of Positive Train Control—a technology that would have prevented the Philadelphia Amtrak crash. This bill also includes a provision to make commuter rail operators—like Metro-North—eligible for the grant for the first
- $2.645 billion for Capital Investment Grants—a $232 million increase over last fiscal year’s spending level. This includes money for New Starts, Small Starts, and the Core Capacity Grant Program.
Overall, it’s a great bill for national transportation infrastructure including without limitation rail, short and long-haul bus systems, intermodal transportation centers, and mobility. As the appropriations bills for Fiscal Year 2019 and the looming long-term highway/transit authorization that needs to happen at the end of Fiscal Year 2020, I’ll try to keep you updated on these subject matters.
Carey E. Redd, CAPP
credd@ci.new-london.ct.us
Transportation Advisory Council, U. S. Senator Chris Murphy
Director of Parking/CEO
New London Parking Authority