Landmark legislation to fund $1.2T revitalization of America's transportation infrastructure.

The American Society of Civil Engineers’ 2021 Report Card for America’s Infrastructure showed incremental improvement issuing a C- grade compared to the 2017 publication’s grade of a D+. With investment needs and project backlogs growing, additional funding is required to support continued growth of the U.S. economy and infrastructure market. After years of deliberation, new public infrastructure funding has arrived, with Congress passing the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, a $1.2 trillion investment in America’s transportation, broadband and utilities infrastructure.

This new infrastructure funding package offers governments a number of ways to maximize their return on investment by partnering with the private sector. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act provides expanded opportunities to deliver projects through public-private partnerships and bolsters existing programs by expanding the cap on Private Activity Bonds (PABs) and streamlining the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Program – two financial tools utilized by Transurban to deliver the Virginia Express Lanes. The bill also creates a program designed to support asset recycling transactions, indicating growing public interest in implementing the Australian public-private partnership model in the United States.

Governments across the U.S. can look to Transurban’s Express Lanes network as a model for turning measured public investment into transformational infrastructure projects. In Virginia, a $491 million public investment has been leveraged into:

  • A $4.3 billion network that has saved more than seven million drivers a total of 17 million hours of time, while generating $7 billion in economic impact and 46,000 jobs in the Greater Washington Area during construction.
  • Billions of dollars in public savings on roadway operations and maintenance, with drivers provided a safe, reliable travel option maintained to high standards with best-in-class roadway monitoring services and innovative payment options like GoToll.
  • Dedicated annual funding for transit in Northern Virginia that removes more than 25 million passenger miles from the road and reduces regional greenhouse gas emissions by more than 4,650 metric tons each year, as well as investments in bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

As the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is implemented, we look forward to advocating for outcomes like these that can be delivered through the public-private partnership model, and continuing to partner with government to pursue a modernized transportation network in the U.S.

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