The Road to Surface Transportation Reauthorization: Key Takeaways & Highlights
Boundary Stone Partners transportation and infrastructure experts recently held a webinar covering the reauthorization of the $650 billion federal surface transportation programs. With over 20 years of experience in the transportation sector, Andrew Wishnia, Pete Gould, Emily Domenech, and Andrew Rogers shared their expertise on the current landscape and what you should be doing to ensure your business priorities are heard. Here are their key takeaways:
Prioritizing Safety
Our experts have assessed that the new administration’s policy focus will make existing programs just as important as pursuing new funding opportunities. Safety initiatives that harness technology will be a key pathway, as Secretary Sean Duffy has emphasized its importance.
Through the reauthorization, Congressional committees will have jurisdictional authority over future policy to ensure the safety and security of the country’s transportation systems are prioritized. Our experts identified Congressional committees during the webinar that have the power to shape policy, including the House Transportation and Infrastructure, House Science, Space, and Technology, House Energy and Commerce, Senate Environment and Public Works, Senate Commerce, Senate Banking, and House and Senate Appropriation Committees.
Opportunity to Shape Transportation Policy
Now is the time to engage with lawmakers during policy development and help steer the framework for reauthorization. Opportunities include:
Baseline funding levels from the Highway Trust Fund.
Program design, including the number of formula vs. discretionary grant programs.
Reforming the permitting and interagency review processes covering federal funding allocations, including changes to the National Environmental Policy Act.
Addressing how infrastructure and transportation funding benefits rural vs. urbanized areas.
Innovate to Unlock Infrastructure Investment
There are more pathways than ever for public and private sector stakeholders to tap into federal transportation funding—but success increasingly hinges on innovation. Programs like the Bridge Investment Program, SMART Grants, Advanced Digital Construction Management Systems (ADCMS), and Charging and Fueling Infrastructure (CFI) offer targeted support for projects that address today’s most pressing transportation challenges—from congestion and safety to freight efficiency and emissions reduction. But these programs are just part of the picture.
Savvy organizations are also leveraging financing tools through agencies like the Build America Bureau, which operates within the U.S. Department of Transportation. With a portfolio exceeding $35 billion in credit across 100 loans to more than 70 borrowers, the Bureau supports transformative infrastructure projects that may not fit within traditional grant programs.
Timeline to Reauthorization
During the webinar, Rogers, Wishnia, and Gould walked through the reauthorization timeline. Stakeholder hearings in both the House and Senate are already underway, with Congress expected to begin drafting the baseline bill this spring. The House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee has opened a policy proposal portal, with submissions due by April 30. The Senate Environment and Public Works Committee is expected to begin soliciting Member proposals in the coming weeks. Formal negotiations are likely to ramp up this summer, with committee markups anticipated in the fall.
You can watch a full recording of the webinar below, and contact us to learn how we can help support your business in submitting your proposal before the deadline.
