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

  • July 24, 2014
    IBTTA Joins transportation secretaries in call for adequate infrastructure funding
    The International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA) has joined US Department of Transportation (DOT) secretary Anthony Foxx and 11 former DOT secretaries in supporting a call for Congress to find consensus on a long-term solution to funding our nation’s infrastructure. Patrick D. Jones, executive director and CEO of IBTTA, echoed the call for long-term action by stating: “The joint letter released yesterday by our nation’s transportation chiefs is a profile in courage and should serve as an
  • December 19, 2013
    Funding approved for US Ohio River Bridges Project
    US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan for US$452 million to finance the Downtown Crossing section of the Louisville and Southern Indiana Ohio River Bridges Project. The cost of the Downtown Crossing, which Kentucky is funding, is around US$1.3 billion, and represents one half of the bi-state Ohio River Bridges project, which also includes the new East End Bridge, also spanning the Ohio River eight miles to the north
  • June 3, 2016
    USDOT Smart City Challenge explained
    Mark Dowd, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology, US Department of Transportation, will join keynote speaker Frank DiGiammarino of Amazon Web Services (AWS) on stage at 2:00pm on Wednesday, June 15 in Grand Ballroom 220A of McEnery Convention Centre to close out ITS America 2016 San Jose.
  • October 13, 2015
    Politicisation of US transportation funding
    Andrew Bardin Williams looks at how a political stalemate and a series of short-term fixes is undermining America’s highway funding and curtailing long-term planning. It was a week before the deadline to renew funding for the Highway Trust Fund, and the clock was ticking.