Skip to main content

US FY 2016 budget invests heavily in ITS, infrastructure

Announcing President Obama’s US$94.7 billion Fiscal Year 2016 budget for the US Department of Transportation, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Our budget proposal lays the foundation for a future where our transportation infrastructure meets the demands of a growing population and an economy that depends on the free flow of freight,” said Secretary Foxx. “This Administration is looking towards the horizon – the future – but to do this we need Congress’ partnership to pass a long-term reauthorisa
February 3, 2015 Read time: 3 mins
Announcing President Obama’s US$94.7 billion Fiscal Year 2016 budget for the 324 US Department of Transportation, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Our budget proposal lays the foundation for a future where our transportation infrastructure meets the demands of a growing population and an economy that depends on the free flow of freight,” said Secretary Foxx. “This Administration is looking towards the horizon – the future – but to do this we need Congress’ partnership to pass a long-term reauthorisation to put Americans to work rebuilding America.”

The proposal makes critical investments in infrastructure needed to promote long-term economic growth, enhance safety and efficiency and support jobs for the 21st century.

The last year has demonstrated the pitfalls of repeated short term funding extensions and is why the President’s FY 2016 budget creates additional certainty with a six-year US$478 billion surface transportation reauthorisation proposal that would improve America’s highways, ports and transit networks. The proposal would better ensure these systems are safe, and support the development of a high-performance rail system. The proposed budget would be paid for in part with US$238 billion from transition revenues generated from pro-growth business tax reform.

Speaking at Google headquarters in Mountain View, California, Foxx highlighted the President’s budget proposal, which notably includes funding to advance research and autonomous vehicles, while announcing his report Beyond Traffic, a look at future trends and choices that will impact America’s transportation system over the next three decades.

In order to tackle the infrastructure deficit and support job creation, the six-year budget includes US$317 billion to rebuild America’s roads and bridges, an increase of almost 29 per cent over current investment in the highway system. To help meet growing demand, the budget provides more than US$143 billion to create and improve transit and passenger rail service.

The budget also invests US$935 million over six years in the future of intelligent transportation systems, including US$158 million in FY 2016 to accelerate research on vehicle automation and vehicle-to-vehicle technology.  

In addition to US$18 billion for multi-modal freight programs to strengthen America’s global competitiveness, US$1 billion annually has been allocated for credit assistance for nationally or regionally significant transportation projects through the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Program.

The six-year budget reinforces the Department’s commitment to safety, increasing funding for the 834 National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) by an average of 20 per cent annually, providing US$6 billion to address safety defects on US highways. To modernise and improve NHTSA’s data collection tools, the budget includes US$41.7 million in FY 2016 to establish data collections sites and expand the agency’s analytical capacity.

US$3 billion over six years has been provided to help with the implementation of positive train control, with a further US$29 billion for targeted infrastructure investments for deficient roads and bridges through the Critical Immediate Safety Investments Program, including US$7.35 billion for rural communities.

In addition, the FY 2016 budget includes US$956 million to continue efforts to modernize America’s air-traffic control system and help transition from a ground-based radar system to a more accurate, satellite-based system of the future, known as NextGen.

Related Content

  • February 8, 2016
    Obama to propose oil tax to fund transportation projects
    President Obama is to propose a US$10 a barrel tax on crude oil to fund the overhaul of the US transportation infrastructure. White House officials say the president’s 21st Century Clean Transportation System, funded by a new fee paid by oil companies would increase American investments in clean transportation infrastructure by roughly 50 per cent while reforming the investments already made to help reduce carbon pollution, cut oil consumption and create new jobs. They say the new fee on oil will also en
  • May 16, 2014
    Strong demand for TIGER grants
    Applications to the US Department of Transportation for its sixth round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants totalled US$9.5 billion, 15 times the US$600 million set aside for the program, demonstrating the continued need for transportation investment nationwide, according to an announcement by Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. The Department received 797 eligible applications, compared to 585 in 2013, from 49 states, US territories and the District of Columbia.
  • February 10, 2016
    President’s transportation budget ‘takes the next step’, says ITS America
    Announcing President Obama’s US$98.1 billion Fiscal Year 2017 Budget for the US Department of Transportation (DOT), Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said, “Meeting future challenges will require a long-term vision for the transportation sector that includes more and cleaner options, and expands those options to communities across the country. This budget brings us closer to that vision.” The Budget addresses the DOT’s top priority, safety, with investments in the safe integration of emerging techno
  • February 5, 2015
    Praise for Obama’s FY2016 budget
    US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx joined Google executive chairman Eric Schmidt at the Google Campus in California today where he discussed the budget and unveiled Beyond Traffic, a new US Department of Transportation (DOT) analysis outlining the trends that are likely to shape the needs of our transportation system over the next three decades. Beyond Traffic includes a strong focus on how ITS technologies, including vehicle-to-vehicle communication, vehicle automation and other new technologies are