Boosting New Jersey Water Infrastructure Capital Investments Would Provide 3:1 Economic Return, New Analysis Finds
Report available at www.artba.org (WASHINGTON) – An additional $1 billion annual investment dedicated to improving New Jersey’s drinking water, wastewater and stormwater systems would generate $3 billion in economic benefits and support nearly 14,000 jobs, according to a new analysis conducted by the American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA). Current spending on the networks that supply clean drinking water, treat wastewater, and drain stormwater is estimated to average a...
U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $605 Million Loan for Houston’s Grand Parkway Project
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao today announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau will provide up to a $605 million Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan to the Grand Parkway Transportation Corporation (GPTC) in Houston. The loan is for the Grand Parkway Project’s H & I Segments. “This government investment of $605 million will help regional and local agencies develop the infrastructure that best me...
Minnesota Governor Proposes Fuel Tax Hike as Part of Transportation Funding Plan
Gov. Tim Walz (D) is proposing to phase in a 20-cent increase in Minnesota’s fuel tax over the next two years and index that tax to inflation as part of his overall state budget proposal unveiled on Feb. 19. [Above photo via the Minnesota Governor’s Office.] “Minnesota’s transportation system is aging and struggling to keep up with the demands of our growing population,” he noted in the...
Ohio Governor Advocates for 18-Cent Fuel Tax Hike
Gov. Mike DeWine (R) is calling for an 18-cent-per-gallon increase in Ohio’s fuel tax as part of his first transportation budget; an increase expected to raise an estimated $1.2 billion a year for state transportation needs, including $480 million for local government projects, according to news reports. [Above photo via the Ohio Governor’s Office.] The Governor’s office added that the fuel tax hike would take effect July 1 and will be tied to the consumer price index each year starting in...
Connecticut Governor Looks to Tolls, Transportation ‘Debt Diet’ to Balance Budget
Gov. Ned Lamont (D) (seen above) is seeking to reduce transportation spending in the near-term in order to help balance Connecticut’s budget via a “debt diet,” while implementing new tolls on both cars and commercial trucks to rebuild funding levels to support future infrastructure investments. According to fiscal year 2020-2021 budget details issued by the governor’s office on Feb. 20, that “debt diet” would scale back annual bond authorizations from the $1.59 billion averaged between 2012 a...
I-95 Coalition and DelDOT Receive A Third STSFA Grant
Dover (Statewide) - The I-95 Corridor Coalition, with the Delaware Department of Transportation, was awarded a federal grant to continue exploring whether a mileage-based user fee is a long-term sustainable transportation funding option. "After a successful pilot in 2018, we are excited to use this grant to expand the pilot program as we continue to learn and answer questions about how a mileage-based user fee system would work in Delaware and surrounding states," said Delaware Secretary of Tra...
Transportation Funding to Flow Following Bicameral Legislative Agreement
As part of bicameral legislative deal to prevent a second partial federal government shutdown while providing monies to build a wall along parts of the southern U.S. border, a total of $26.5 billion in discretionary funds and $60 billion from Highway and Airport and Airway Trust Funds will b...
BUILD Infrastructure Grants Reduced in Recent Funding Deal
Funding for grants meant to assist states with infrastructure projects of regional significance was cut under the recently signed law ensuring federal agencies remain open through fiscal 2019. The Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD, grants received $900 million in the congressional funding deal President Donald Trump signed into law Feb. 15. The law’s enactment funded the U.S. Department of Transportation and other agencies to avert another partial shutdown of the fe...
USDOT Formally Awards Florida City $25M BUILD Grant
Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao officially awarded the City of Jacksonville, FL, and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority a shared $25 million grant to support two projects in a formal ceremony on Feb. 8. [Above photo via USDOT.] Made under the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development or BUILD transportation grant program, Chao said in a statement that “this grant will pave the way for two important projects to revitalize transportation and commerce in the heart of th...
Seven State DOTs Get FHWA Grants to Test ‘Alternate’ Infrastructure Funding Methods
The Federal Highway Administration awarded $10.2 million in Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives or STSFA grants to seven state departments of transportation on Feb. 12; grants that aim to test “new ways” to finance highway and bridge projects. [Above photo by Maria Pagan.] The recipients of those seven grants – the DOTs from California, Delaware, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Utah – will “investigate and evaluate various mileage-based and road-user charges,...
Stormwater Interview with Robert Page, P.E., Vice President, HNTB
Santa Barbara County North Branch Jail Expansion
February Issue 2026
