$305 Billion in Funding Approved for Transportation Budget
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After months of political wrangling and several years spent working under the uncertainty of stop-gap funding, we finally have a long-term transportation budget in place. President Obama signed the budget into law on December 4, providing $305 billion in funding to highway, transit, and Amtrak programs over the next 5 years.
The expected breakdown of the budget will be roughly:
- $230 billion for highways
- $61 billion for public transit
- $10 billion for Amtrak
- $5 billion for highway safety programs
This represents a 5 percent increase in highway funding and an 8 percent increase in transit funding for fiscal 2016. For the remaining four years highway funding will rise an average of 2.3 percent.
Besides increasing funding the new law also provides several other important benefits to builders:
Stability: Having a long-range budget in place is extremely important for engineering and construction firms that want to tackle large highway and transit infrastructure projects, because they can plan their funding and expenditures with a greater degree of certainty. This is a very welcome change from the past 14 months, when the budget was funded with 5 short extensions and from years past when we saw 10 extensions between September 2010 and July 2012. States that have cut back on large projects in the past because of uncertain funding should now be able to plan, approve, and implement their much-needed improvements.
TIFIA Extension: The new law also includes a reauthorization for the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA). Though the federal loan program receives less funding than in previous years (only $1.1 billion over five years as opposed to $1.75 in 27 months in the last bill) it still represents an important resource for companies financing large projects.
Faster Project Approval: Language in the bill aims to expedite project permitting and environmental approval, which will help cut down on the time and expense of the planning phases of infrastructure projects.
Is Your Company Ready for New Infrastructure Projects?
If your company wants a piece of this new transportation infrastructure pie, it is important to have your operations as nimble and streamlined as possible. One update that could help is implementing our Fund Control software suite. This will help your institution manage all aspects of lending to engineering or construction firms engaged in transportation projects with improved efficiency and oversight. The software works through a single secure online portal to facilitate collaboration from all interested parties regardless of their physical location.
To learn more or to request your free online demo, contact us by phone or email today.
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