Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg spoke at the National Associates of Counties Legislative Conference Feb. 13, where he discussed various transportation issues.
He said the country has "more funding than ever" for transportation projects, and noted he understands the importance of making it easier to access those funds, particularly for rural counties that don't have "legions of federal relations staff to pick through federal requirements," according to a Feb. 14 release from the National Association of Counties. He said the department can provide technical assistance to help.
“Appreciated the chance to speak to America's county officials today on a number of transportation priorities, especially our shared commitment to use new infrastructure funding to help end the crisis of roadway safety that is costing over 40,000 American lives a year,” Buttigieg said in a Twitter post.
Buttigieg launched the National Roadway Safety Strategy Call to Action campaign Feb. 3, where he asked stakeholders to commit to actions this year to reduce injuries and deaths on roadways, noting “crisis levels” have been reached, according to a DOT release.
The strategy was created in response to a surge in traffic deaths following the early days of the pandemic. Nearly 43,000 people were killed in 2021 which is a major concern considering the number was on a decline for decades previously, according to the DOT release.
There were 49 early adopters, including health and safety advocates, the private sector, municipal and law enforcement organizations, and others, who voluntarily committed to taking action, the release reported.
According to information released by the White House, President Joe Biden’s Infrastructure Law, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will provide $550 billion in new federal funding for transportation and other infrastructure projects in the U.S. This includes funding for repairing and upgrading highways, bridges, airports, modernizing public transit and investing in electric vehicle charging infrastructure.
As of Feb. 8, the infrastructure progress includes initiating 3,700 projects for repairing and replacing bridges, repair work on more than 69,000 miles of roads, providing funds for more than 3,000 new clean transit and school buses and working on repairs to 65,000 miles of roads and 1,500 bridges, according to a White House statement.
