Overview
A strong transportation system relies on true partnership between the federal, state and local governments to best serve national interests and user/financial supporters. All levels of government must diligently monitor transportation improvement needs and continue to dedicate sufficient revenue to highway improvements.
State and federal governments should continue to hold peer exchanges and share successful projects, technologies and workflows that other states and municipalities could replicate to improve efficiencies. This includes peer exchanges with owners outside of the U.S.
The Role of the Federal Government
Working in full cooperation with the states, the federal government’s stewardship responsibilities include: identification of national priorities, strengthen already established accountability mechanisms, and provide requisite investment levels and regulatory/policy framework to achieve those objectives. The federal government should not dictate to states project selection and delivery decisions, such as procurement methods and product and material choices, or make operational decisions for states. Rather, leave these decisions to state transportation agencies per their performance expectations, programming and delivery needs.
Consistent and predictable federal funding is essential to operating orderly and cost-effective state highway improvement programs.
The Role of State & Local Government
State and local governments are the owners and managers of the nation’s highway and bridge network. States should be responsible for project planning, management, and environmental analysis and should assume partial responsibility for financing development of a uniform, nationally coordinated highway system.
Once a federally-assisted highway or bridge has been constructed, states should have lead responsibility for maintaining them in good, safe condition with highway durability and safety as top priorities. In pursuit of these goals, states should make every effort to incorporate long-lasting, state-of-the-art design standards and products in their highway and bridge plans.
Congress has given state transportation departments and metropolitan planning organizations (MPO’s) broad authority and responsibility for planning, prioritizing and developing highway and bridge projects that qualify for federal aid. In carrying out these responsibilities, it is essential that states continue to be allowed to streamline federal program requirements, particularly during project oversight where certification is required, and be permitted to provide “value-add” to projects.
To ensure increased federal highway and bridge investment results in more total funds for transportation improvements, a “maintenance of effort” provision should be enacted that makes increased apportioned federal funds contingent on individual state highway investments being continued at least at prior year levels.