Andy Sullivan

WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – The $1 trillion U.S. infrastructure bill that Congress passed Friday represents the biggest U.S. investment for roads and rail lines in transportation networks since decades. The bill also grants President Joe Biden unprecedented control over the way it is spent.

The Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, which accounts for more than one-fifth the authorized new spending under the law, will oversee $126 billion of new spending in the five year period.

This is a significant shift in the transportation budget. Currently, most of transportation assistance goes to states. They decide where and how it should be used.

Former mayor of South Bend in Indiana, Buttigieg will manage approximately $25 billion annually through competitive grant programs which allow him to choose the projects that he funds. This is a significant increase in discretionary spending and a remarkable boost to a cabinet position that had historically been overlooked.

Jeff Davis (an analyst with the Eno Center for Transportation in Washington) stated that “we’ve never had transportation secretary who has had such authority before.”

Buttigieg stated Monday at a White House briefing that the Transportation Department will support projects to reduce greenhouse gasses, improve safety and promote racial equality.

He stated, “What you will see…is an emphasis on projects which, taken together give us more value in the priority of this administration.”

An example is Henderson, Nevada. This summer, $40 million was awarded by the government to help transform a busy highway through a neighborhood of poor people into a boulevard, complete with bike lanes and pedestrian improvements.

According to Ed McGuire (city’s director of public works), the award will allow the city to complete the project three and a half years sooner than otherwise.

He said that the improved streetscape will draw businesses and lower speeds will reduce fatalities.

“It is a tremendous improvement to this part of the town,” he stated.

Buttigieg, a 2020 presidential hopeful, highlighted his work as South Bend mayor in revitalizing the downtown area through pedestrian improvements. He has also been seen bicycling to Washington.

Democratic circles see him as a likely presidential candidate. According to people close to Buttigieg, the transportation secretary uses his position to establish relationships with midsize American mayors who may be of assistance if he ever runs.

STIFF COMPETITION

The demand for competitive grants from the Transportation Department is high. It said it reviewed 157 applications for INFRA this year, which is the funding program that funded Henderson’s highway upgrade. Total 24 projects were awarded funding.

Next year’s INFRA funding will be $1.5 billion. This is a 50% increase.

Buttigieg explained that every dollar they have to spend, there are approximately 10 impressive applications.

New law expands existing competitive grants, creates new programs for bridge repairs, reduced roadway deaths and upgrades airport terminals. It also reconnects inner-city communities that were affected by the freeway building boom in the 20th Century.

Research has shown that the states which voted for President in Power have received more competitive transportation dollars than those who voted against him.

Christopher Lawrence is a Middle Georgia State University political science professor. He found that the majority of funds under Obama’s administration’s TiGER grant program (which supported projects with a significant regional or national impact) were awarded to states that voted in his favor. This administration highlighted the need for bike lanes and light rail in cities.

Trump’s 2016 election win, his government renamed BUILD the program and directed more funding to rural areas. Lawrence discovered that the majority of money was given to states who voted for Trump.

An official from the Transportation Department spoke on condition of anonymity to say that the agency had improved its internal controls in order to ensure the projects it chooses are worthwhile investments and follow guidelines set forth by Congress. Officials will also be working together with independent watchdogs, the official stated.

According to state officials, funding may be more unpredictable in the future due to the DOT increasing discretionary funds. The infrastructure package is expected to be completed in 2026, two years after next president’s election.

Jim Tymon, the executive director of American Association of State Highway and Transit Officials, stated, “With these big discretionary programmes, you’re gonna see shifts basing on who’s sitting at the White House.”

“We are going to witness that on an unprecedented scale,”