When it comes to road funding in Michigan, all of the focus seems to be on the debates in Lansing. However, at SEMCOG we are also keeping an eye on what is going on in Washington, D.C.
The federal government distributes highway funds under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act. Unfortunately, we are just a year away from that law from expiring, leaving no authorization to distribute road funds after October 1, 2020. With that in mind, SEMCOG arranged to meet with staff from each of our region’s congressional offices on Monday as well as others from the rest of the state to discuss the transportation funding needs of our region and state.
Our one-day fly-in started at Metro Airport at 5:30 a.m., where I was joined by my colleagues, Bill Anderson, Government Finance Specialist, and Tom Bruff, Transportation Planning Manager. Our objective for the day was to make sure our congressional delegation has a solid understanding of what we see as the good and the not-so-good when it comes to federal support for maintaining our road system.
Getting reauthorization for the surface transportation highway bill is not going to be an easy proposition. On the plus side is the fact that everyone agrees that our highway and transit systems need a whole lot more care than they are currently receiving. On the negative side, all of the debate regarding reauthorization will be taking place as we gear up for the next federal election. The FAST Act runs out just weeks before the general election in November 2020. Add onto the negative side the fact that the legislation requires the approval of four Senate committees and two House Committees on top of the approval of the full House and Senate, and you have many opportunities for the proposal to be derailed. This is why we feel it is so important to have these discussions early and often with our congressional delegation. In fact, we began the discussion on this issue with our congressional delegation last February, in a less detailed manner.
This year, Michigan has received approximately $1.1 billion from the federal government for our state’s highways. We all see the impact of this funding. It is the main source of funds for the I-75 and I-94 projects, as well as Mound Road in metro Detroit. In finalizing the 2045 Regional Transportation Plan, SEMCOG took a critical look at the road funding levels for the region for the next 25 years as compared to our needs. The simple conclusion of the plan is that we have less than half of the money necessary to get our federal-aid-eligible roads up to 80 percent good or fair condition over that timeframe. We will need an additional $1.2 billion per year for Southeast Michigan alone to get its roads into reasonable condition. These necessary funds will need to come from a combination of federal, state, and local sources. This does not even discuss the funding needed for transit.
Reauthorization of the FAST Act is imperative to keeping our major road projects on track. The good news is that the Senate has already started the process of approving the highway portions of the reauthorization bill. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee has approved a bill that would reauthorize highway funding for five more years. An analysis of the bill can be found here. It would increase spending on roads each year, culminating with a 25 percent increase in the final year.
The Senate legislation that passed the committee would keep the basic road funding distribution formulas intact. Most of the new revenue would also be distributed by existing formulas. The legislation does add in new programs – some distributed by formula, some distributed by grants, and some by a combination of the two. In reviewing the list of potential new programs, we see some potential winners for our region, like funds to reduce crashes involving pedestrians, bicyclists, and motorcyclists. One of the reasons for going to Washington is to discuss our observations with our delegation so that they can better represent our region’s interests.
It was great to have a meeting where all of our congressional offices are coming together to talk about a common objective. We reviewed some of the larger projects that are currently occurring, and the struggles we went through to get those projects funded. We talked about the billions of dollars of needed projects that are not currently funded. We also emphasized that this is a problem that is going to need resources from all levels of government.
At the base of all of the discussions were SEMCOG’s reauthorization priorities:
- Support for regional planning process: Coordination and planning are critically important when resources are severely limited.
- Prioritize preservation over expansion: Because Southeast Michigan’s population is expected to grow at a third of the national rate, transportation programs focused on rebuilding and maintaining existing infrastructure will benefit the region more than those that emphasize building new.
- Multimodal transportation: While automobiles are the mainstay of the transportation system in our state, there are many ways in which we move from place to place and they are evolving rapidly.
- Preparing for changing transportation systems: Michigan has been the center of providing transportation for the world for the last century; we need to maintain this position for the next century.
- Formula allocation/sub-allocation are preferred over competitive grants: Guaranteed funds with flexibility in how they are used are preferable to spending large sums of money preparing grant proposals that may never be read, much less funded.
Tom Bruff, Transportation Planning Manager, presents to Congressional staffers
By 8:30 p.m., we were back at Detroit Metro Airport, getting into the car to drive back home. It was a good trip. We had some great conversations with individuals who are working hard behind the scenes to ensure that our region and our state are treated fairly at the federal level.
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