At roughly six year intervals, the Congress must reauthorize federal surface transportation legislation. The most recent effort, SAFETEA-LU, expired in 2009, but many expect a new bill in 2011. The Northeast-Midwest Institute works with a number of regional and national partners to structure policy recommendations that will lead to a significant change in direction for federal policy and bring remedies to our nation’s deteriorating transportation and infrastructure systems.

Many of the most visible transportation challenges exist in the older cities of the Northeast and Midwest. America’s decaying infrastructure in urban areas was brought to center-stage in the late summer of 2007 with the collapse of the I-35 Bridge in Minneapolis. This catastrophe intensified members of Congress’ concerns over domestic policies and the lack of federal focus on our nation’s urban areas. The longtime worries about the condition of America’s transportation network— shared by many members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee — had tragically been brought to fruition. Following the disaster, the Northeast-Midwest Institute and Congressional Coalition arranged for transportation policy experts from top research organizations to meet with House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee staff to help forge emergency bridge repair legislation and to begin to build the foundation for the upcoming authorization and overhaul of the Surface Transportation Bill.

Sharing committee jurisdiction with surface transportation is water and sewer infrastructure.  Repeatedly, fact-finding discussions with stakeholders from older industrial communities point out that sewer systems, storm water management, and water quality top the expenditures and concerns list of municipalities.  The huge funding shortfall for virtually all infrastructure points to the fact that major federal efforts must be focused on finding solutions to the aging infrastructure systems that plague many economically challenged communities.

The Revitalizing Older Cities Initiative acts as the research conduit for legislative concepts that will help bring about a philosophical shift from constructing new infrastructure to addressing infrastructure repairs. Such ideological changes will have a significant impact on the livability, economy, and energy uses that currently plague older industrial communities.

In February of 2011, the Obama Administration released its FY2012 budget proposal, which includes a number of changes in transportation programs and funding that are relevant to the region.