Over the life of the FAST Act, an average of $260 million of this funding per year is reserved for the Railway-Highway Crossings Program. Investment in infrastructure: 13 billion $ Countries With the Best Infrastructure Hong Kong. However, traffic concentration is already producing capacity problems in many of these gateways, particularly in accessing their hinterlands. The President has made clear that modernizing our country’s crumbling infrastructure, including our Nation’s highways and bridges, is one of his top priorities. Table 4-1 illustrates the specific types of measures such an inventory might include.. The infrastructure in Hong Kong is efficient and has promoted economic development to international standards and ensures businesses run efficiently to increase growth. Running from coast to coast, through beautiful rural landscapes and great cities, the National Highway System (NHS) is comprised of 223,257 miles of road, which is approximately five percent of the total mileage in our country. Under the asset management provisions in MAP-21 and the FAST Act, State DOTs must develop and implement an asset management plan, which aims to improve and preserve the condition of assets and system performance at a minimum practicable cost. 1. The Administration’s goal is to seek long-term reforms on how infrastructure projects are regulated, funded, delivered, and maintain… The Federal Lands Transportation Program provides critical support for roads, bridges, trails, and transit facilities managed by Federal Land Management Agencies, such as the National Park Service, U.S. We are reviewing our implementation efforts, particularly with respect to streamlining to maximize any flexibility granted by Congress. In the short term, road transport is expected to continue its dominance. In 2016, total miles driven on public roads in the U.S. increased for a fifth straight year by 1.65 percent to 3.2 trillion miles. As of the end of April 2017, the Highway Account of the Highway Trust Fund has a total balance of $47.7 billion. AID can accelerate the adoption of innovative technologies and new business practices in highway construction. The report presents a road map which will help spur the expansion, and improvement of infrastructure services, and move the country into a virtuous circle of growth and development. Putting the numbers into context – in just 100 years, the population of our cities will have grown by 88% – to 6.4 billion. Each State must enter into a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with FHWA and agree to certain conditions, such as waiving sovereign immunity and submitting to Federal court jurisdiction if a NEPA decision is legally challenged. The FAST Act also continued the Emergency Relief program, a special program from the Highway Trust Fund, which provides funds for emergency and permanent repairs on Federal-aid highways and roads, tribal transportation facilities, and roads on Federal lands that have suffered serious damage as a result of natural disasters or failure from an external cause. Parastatal companies also undertake infrastructure development in some sectors, while other initiatives include the government’s Expanded Public Works Programme, and public-private partnerships. This approach can contribute to significant resource efficiencies and cost savings in the project development process. This poses a challenge to Federal Land Management Agencies to maintain the needed infrastructure to fulfill their missions of providing visitor enjoyment while conserving precious resources. Transport infrastructure is one of the most important factors for a country's progress. The continued success of the freight industry is vital to our national economic interests; investment in our Nation’s transportation infrastructure is needed if we expect to maintain a global competitive edge. A high-quality infrastructure investment should have positive economic value that can stimulate job creation, enhance foreign direct investment, and improve productivity and tax revenue in the area in the end. His research interests cover transportation and economics as they relate to logistics and global freight distribution. This rapid urbanization presents many challenges. For example, the percentage of bridges in this classification dropped from 14.2 percent in 2002 to 11.0 percent in 2012. Irrespective of the context, the issue of the role of private and public actors in transport infrastructure as well as pricing mechanisms will remain salient: Most transport infrastructure projects are long term but are typified by high capital investment requirements being incurred over a short initial phase for securing land, rights of way, and constructing infrastructure. We are examining ways to increase the effectiveness of that program. Sharing and exchanging environmental documents and information reduces duplicative reviews and identifies permitting challenges early in the process, which results in expedited resolutions and accelerated project delivery. These provisions have allowed us to: Additionally, under the Surface Transportation Project Delivery Program, commonly referred to as the NEPA Assignment Program, States can choose to assume the Federal Highway Administration’s (FHWA) responsibilities for environmental review under NEPA. To promote flexibility, States also have the option to assume only environmental approvals for projects that are eligible for categorical exclusions (CEs) under the CE Assignment Program. To date, five States—California, Texas, Florida, Utah, and Ohio—have assumed NEPA responsibilities. The adequate infrastructure in the form of road and railway transport system, ports, power, […] While most of the Interstate is publicly funded, almost all Chinese highways were funded by private interests that are using tolls to recover their investments. Just last month, I approved the release of $768.2 million to help fix roads and bridges damaged by storms and catastrophic events across forty States. The 7.2 percent increase in fatalities from 2014 to 2015 ended a five-decade trend of declining fatalities. The FAST Act also requires each State to develop a State Freight Plan, a comprehensive plan for their immediate and long-range planning activities and investments that includes: identification of significant system trends, needs, and issues; identification of multimodal critical rural freight facilities and corridors; an inventory of facilities with freight mobility issues; strategies to mitigate congestion or delay; and a freight investment plan. The cost of wasted time and fuel attributable to congestion also rose, from a staggering $124 billion in 2002 to $154 billion 2012. For example, Alaska signed a CE assignment MOU in September 2009. Infrastructure funding is largely provided by South Africa’s national government. These projects are evaluating the reliability, as well as the security, of such technologies and addressing common challenges to implementing use-based fees, including public acceptance, privacy protection, and equity concerns. As you all know, the FAST Act established the National Highway Freight Program (NHFP) to improve the efficient movement of freight on the newly designated National Highway Freight Network (NHFN). Drivers slowing to avoid poor pavement and bridge conditions can also create congestion, which continues a troubling trend. A classroom in Godineşti in Gorj county, Romania. The program invests in major research initiatives, develops and tests the underlying technology and applications, and provides deployment support, including technology transfer and training. Thank you again for the invitation to appear before you today. These transportation networks, which are critical for supporting the economy, national defense and for providing access for all Americans to our country’s national scenic treasures, are critical for supporting the economy, national defense and for providing access for all Americans to our country’s national scenic treasures, are falling into disrepair, creating a backlog of billions of dollars in deferred maintenance. Such low density, space extensive patterns are pushing the traffic congestion ever further out and make it very difficult for other higher-capacity modes to compete. Today, 3.9 billion do – and that figure is expected to increase by a further 2.5 billionby 2050. Eventually, due to technological obsolescence, public policy, or commercial changes, transportation infrastructure can reach the end of its life cycle. These advances include the use of ultra-high performance concrete, the Diverging Diamond Interchange, and adaptive signal control systems. For freight users, poor conditions can increase the cost of doing business and delay the delivery of millions of tons of goods and agricultural products across the country. Although India has a large and diverse transport sector with its own share of challenges, they can be overcome by energy-efficient technologies and customer-focussed approach Therefore, it is critical that the country’s infrastructure remains a prevalent topic of concern, not just for the safety of the public and the health of the roads, bridges, sewer systems, etc., but also for … The FAST Act authorized the Department to consolidate the TIFIA program into the Surface Transportation and Innovative Finance Bureau, also referred to as the Build America Bureau, along with the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) program, the Private Activity Bonds (PABs) program, and the National Surface Transportation and Highway Projects (NSHSP) program. Fifty-five percent of all public road miles are locally-owned rural roads. Nothing can replace the loss of a loved one, but quantifying the economic and societal costs of motor vehicle crashes demonstrate even further the importance of investing in highway safety and achieving a better safety record on U.S. highways. This has already led to a concentration of traffic, a relatively small number of gateways and hubs, which are capable of extracting scale economies. However, increasing capacity engenders a hidden demand, so that adding lanes to an expressway tends to attract even more circulation. But for real development in every sphere to happen, we need to improve our infrastructure. Features of Infrastructure 3. The Department is already taking steps to improve our nation’s infrastructure by implementing the FAST Act, which Congress passed in 2015. These figures underscore the critical demands placed on America’s highways and bridges. As you may know, trucks transport the majority of U.S. freight, so keeping our roads and bridges in good condition is critical to our country’s competitiveness. Congestion is not limited to urban traffic. Bringing our existing infrastructure into a state of good repair will not only make our roads and bridges safer,  but will also save travelers and shippers time and money. The expected growth of mobility demands is likely to have major impacts on the nature and form of the future transport industry. Alaska, Arizona, and Nebraska are also actively pursuing this opportunity. The Texas Transportation Institute estimates that total delays resulting from congestion experienced by all travelers increased from 5.6 billion hours in 2002 to 6.7 billion hours in 2012. Infrastructure is the physical undergirding of any society, and a country’s infrastructure plays a large role in determining its long-term economic and social trajectory. Thank you. When weighted by vehicles miles traveled, the decrease in acceptable ride quality went from 85.3 percent to 83.3 percent, which leads to the conclusion that ride quality on less-traveled Federal-aid highways has significantly declined since 2002. Safety continues to be the Department’s highest priority, and is at the core of our mission. In Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017, FHWA has distributed over $2.2 billion in National Highway Freight Program funding to the States by statutory formula. Investment in research is critical to the identification, development, and evaluation of these technology and innovation initiatives. Each fiscal year, 25 percent of the competitive grant funds distributed are reserved for projects in rural areas. 8. – Mass-transit systems, including buses, subways (UK: underground trains), elevated trains, etc. Last month, the Department issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the second round of competitive grants in the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) Program. Chairman Barrasso, Ranking Member Carper, and Members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to testify on the state of our highway and bridge infrastructure. Congress not only provided formula funds for freight development in the FAST Act, but also created the Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects program (that became unofficially known as “FASTLANE”). International trade is likely to continue to be dominated by maritime transport (in terms of weight) and air transport (in terms of value). Specific topics include maritime transport systems, global supply chains, gateways and transport corridors. For specific uses permission MUST be requested. The FAST Act continued the Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), providing estimated annual average funding of approximately $2.6 billion. Importance 4. In addition to ITS JPO, the Department supports several competitive grant programs that encourage and facilitate the deployment of new technologies by our State and local partners. Additionally, in the Consolidated Appropriations Acts for Fiscal Years 2016 and 2017, Congress provided flexibility to allow States to repurpose certain earmarked funds that were over 10 years old and had not been used for their stated purposes, putting previously idle funds to use on critical highway and bridge projects. Beginning December 4, 2017, a State may not continue to obligate formula freight funds unless it has developed a comprehensive State Freight Plan. 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