Coming up FAST: coalition surface transportation priorities
September 30th will mark not only the end of the federal government’s fiscal year, but also the expiration of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which has authorized spending for federal surface and public transportation programs since 2015. (We talked about the expiration of the FAST Act and the beginning of the “Highway Bill” reauthorization process in our July 2019 Medium post.) In this post, we discuss how a new Highway Bill should encourage proactive investment, strengthen critical routes, and define key terminology.
This year, the goal of many congressional leaders is to pass new reauthorization legislation (better known as a “Highway Bill”) for federal surface and public transportation programs before the September 30th deadline. Already, House and Senate committees have held hearings, and one committee, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee, has introduced draft legislation (S. 2302, America’s Transportation Infrastructure Act (ATIA)) to replace the FAST Act. In the coming weeks, we expect additional legislative proposals to be unveiled — including legislation based on the House Democrats’ Moving Forward Framework, a conceptual policy outline to inform eventual infrastructure legislation. Despite this progress on advancing a Highway Bill, several outstanding questions remain, including, most notably, how to pay for the reauthorization and any new programs.
With the reality of higher seas, stronger storms, and more frequent flooding, it is also important to ask how our current underfunded and neglected infrastructure will address the challenges of flooding, which is the costliest and most common natural disaster in the U.S. Since 2010, U.S. infrastructure has been on the receiving end of over 100 ‘billion-dollar’ disasters and storms; these storms batter bridges, wash out roads, and weaken an already debilitated national transportation network.
The present conversation around a new Highway Bill is the perfect opportunity to account for the impacts of more frequent flooding and sea level rise in our infrastructure planning. To increase resilience, the eventual Highway Bill must encourage proactive investment, strengthen critical evacuation routes, and define key terminology. Failure to incorporate these considerations will simply lock in the status quo and require us to rebuild (and spend even more money) in a matter of years.
Encourage pre-disaster mitigation
According to the American Society of Civil Engineers, 40% of bridges are more than 50 years old, and one out of every five miles of highway is in poor condition. Outdated and poorly maintained federal roads are highly vulnerable to serious damage from flooding and extreme weather, which, in turn, leads to costly rebuilds. In fact, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA)’s Emergency Relief program, which is authorized to repair federal roads damaged by extreme weather and natural disasters, surpassed its authorized budget 14 times between 2000 and 2017. The costly, unexpected impacts of disaster damage could lead to billions of dollars in unanticipated federal spending; alternatively, we can avoid this situation by enacting smart policy measures.
The eventual Highway Bill should incentivize states — through competitive grants or similar federal programs — to make pre-disaster mitigation investments in vulnerable infrastructure. By proactively addressing risk and improving the long-term resilience of critical roadways, we can ensure that infrastructure is operational during disasters while also saving taxpayer dollars in costly repairs and recovery projects, since each dollar invested in mitigation now saves six dollars for taxpayers down the road.
Both the Senate ATIA bill and the House Democrats’ Moving Forward Framework recognize this reality. The two proposals outline programs that would establish pre-disaster mitigation funding opportunities for states to proactively invest in and protect critical transportation infrastructure.
Strengthen the resilience of critical transportation routes
In coastal and low-lying communities, roadways are often the first places to flood. As major roads become inaccessible, people are often trapped in their communities and unable to evacuate. Poorly protected evacuation routes and underdeveloped emergency response plans exacerbate this issue, creating risks to lives and property.
For instance, FEMA reported that during Hurricane Sandy, flooding affected roads and tunnels and blocked transportation corridors, causing fuel shortages and service disruptions. The added chaos and uncertainty during an already disruptive situation complicated federal assistance and delayed the delivery of goods and services to affected persons.
This challenge could be avoided. A new Highway Bill should incorporate policy levers such as funding for projects that increase the capacity of critical transportation routes or targeted grant programs to incentivize states and local communities to develop response plans.
Both the Senate ATIA bill and the House Democrats’ Moving Forward Framework would use these levers to help ensure access to critical transportation routes during disasters. ATIA’s new PROTECT grants would include a subset of “Community Resilience and Evacuation Route Grants” to strengthen and protect critical roadways. PROTECT planning grants could also be used to develop emergency plans for evacuation. The House Democrats’ framework also includes evacuation route investment as part of a new proposed program to boost resilience.
Codify “resilience” and “natural infrastructure” in federal transportation statutes
As we grapple with the threats posed by flooding and sea level rise, it is increasingly important to ensure that resilience is incorporated into current federal surface transportation programs. When we think of resilience infrastructure, we often think of elevation projects, seawalls, and drainage systems. However, these “gray infrastructure” projects are not the only available option. The smart use of “green” or “natural” infrastructure is also an important element of the flood resilience toolbox.
Natural infrastructure projects, such as healthy green spaces; wetlands restoration; or maintenance of dunes, are highly effective ways to reduce flooding by naturally absorbing water and buffering tidal floods. Plus, these projects create a host of co-benefits, such as promoting healthy ecosystems, reducing erosion, and maintaining beautiful recreational spaces.
In Maryland, for example, the “Living Shorelines” program protects the state’s coastal roads. By understanding natural coastal processes and creating natural solutions, these projects provide key flood mitigation benefits. The Federal Highway Administration found that Maryland’s program successfully reduced erosion along key coastal roadways and also helped to protect against storm surges during Hurricane Isabel.
Despite the growing need for incorporating resilience into highway projects to protect against flooding and sea level rise, current Federal Highway Administration guidance related to “resilience” and “natural infrastructure” is not defined in statute and could change from administration to administration. The ATIA proposal rectifies this issue by defining these key terms. It is our hope that by defining these terms in statute, states and localities will have clear and consistent guidance.
Overall, the upcoming highway bill presents an exciting opportunity to improve the resilience of our nation’s transportation infrastructure. We look forward to working with our Federal Champions to further incorporate infrastructure protections against more frequent flooding into legislation.
As always, if you have any questions or concerns please do not hesitate to contact us via social media or at info@floodcoalition.org
This post was authored by Justin Baker, Winter Policy Intern
