It’s Finally Infrastructure Week!
Late Friday night, in a narrow vote, the United States House of Representatives passed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, aka, the Infrastructure Bill. After what seems like an eternity, we finally have a bipartisan bill that can be signed into law by the President that will provide critical funding to our nation’s infrastructure system. This is a major accomplishment, since the whole concept of “infrastructure week” had been reduced to meme status for over five years.
In a most fetching way (see what I did there), it’s finally infrastructure week!
Here are the highlights of the bill that I am most excited about and why:
- The package includes $11 billion for transportation safety, with $5 billion dedicated to a Safe Streets for All program to help states and localities reduce crashes and fatalities in their communities, especially for cyclists and pedestrians.
- The bill includes $1 billion to reconnect communities — mainly disproportionately Black neighborhoods — that were divided by highways and other infrastructure. As stated in the White House fact sheet, “[t]he legislation creates a first-ever program to reconnect communities divided by transportation infrastructure. The program will fund planning, design, demolition, and reconstruction of street grids, parks, or other infrastructure through $1 billion of dedicated funding in addition to historic levels of major projects funding, for which these investments could also qualify.”
- The bill provides a $65 billion investment in improving the nation’s broadband infrastructure, aiming to “help lower the price households pay for internet service by requiring federal funding recipients to offer a low-cost affordable plan, by creating price transparency and by boosting competition in areas where existing providers aren’t providing adequate service. It would also create a permanent federal program to help more low-income households access the internet.”
- The bill provides $17 billion for sea port infrastructure and $25 billion for airports to address repair and maintenance backlogs, reduce congestion and emissions near ports and airports and promote electrification and other low-carbon technologies.
- The package includes $7.5 billion for building a nationwide network of plug-in electric vehicle chargers, with a particular focus on rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach communities.
- The bill would invest $65 billion to rebuild the electric grid, and will create a new Grid Deployment Authority, to invest in research and development for advanced transmission and electricity distribution technologies, and for promoting smart grid technologies that deliver flexibility and resilience.
With a focus on improving safety for all users of our transportation system, repairing the damage done to disproportionately disadvantaged and BIPOC communities by previous transportation investments, expanding access to broadband, and expanding electrification opportunities across our supply chains and within all communities, this bill will move America towards a better future where new transportation technologies can benefit all Americans.
I’m excited about the passage of this bill because it supports the work of Urban Movement Labs. Our current partners in the City of Los Angeles, and counterparts in other cities, Counties, regional governments, and states will benefit from these direct investments, and the work of Urban Movement Labs will be even more valuable in helping to ensure that new technologies can leverage this infusion of federal funds to improve mobility and safety for all.
Congratulations to our elected officials on both sides of the political spectrum for coming together to pass this bill!
Note: The primary sources for information on the contents of the bill were taken from CNN.com and The White House Fact Sheet.
