The Bipartisan Infrastructure Bill and the Tolling Industry: Our Webinar with USDOT Deputy Assistant Secretary Charles Small

The $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (aka the IIJA, or the “bipartisan infrastructure law”) will be a record-setting investment. Numerous programs under the law will funnel money into every nook and cranny of the American economy. Transportation is the single biggest beneficiary of the new law and highway, bridge and tunnel programs will see $365 billion in funding over the next five years.

As the Biden Administration ramps up implementation of IIJA and states and other eligible entities look for opportunities to help strengthen U.S. infrastructure with innovative projects, IBTTA hosted USDOT Deputy Assistant Secretary for Intergovernmental Affairs Charles Small for an exclusive webinar where he answered questions from IBTTA members, provided a tolling-specific update on the IIJA and outlined three key factors (outlined below)organizations should bear in mind when it comes to developing projects that can help them and the Administration achieve their shared goals.

Sustainability

“We talk about climate at almost every single meeting I have,” said Small during the webinar. As such, organizations looking to access funding under the IIJA should “think about their project with a sustainability lens,” Small added. “The projects that I think are going to be successful are the ones that lower greenhouse gas emissions and that promote the ability of Americans to travel in ways that leverage the clean-power revolution that’s happening right before us.” 

Equity

Another piece of the equation, according to Small, is equity, which has been one of the Administration’s cornerstones since before President Joe Biden was sworn in. “We talk about equity maybe even more than we talk about climate,” said Small. “Equity is something we take incredibly seriously at this department, and that we care about incredibly deeply.” Small noted that projects that account for factors such as racial equity, economic equity and geographic equity, “they’re the ones that are going to find themselves very successful with this DOT.”

Workforce Development

All these investments won’t be worth much if people aren’t on the ground doing the work to build, improve and repair the nation’s infrastructure. That’s why the IIJA both creates new opportunities to develop workers and expands existing programs to better equip the students and job seekers of today for the infrastructure and transportation jobs of tomorrow. 

For organizations seeking funding for their projects under the bipartisan infrastructure bill, a workforce development program is another way to stand out to the USDOT. “There’s probably going to be a good number of discretionary grant programs that are also going to put an emphasis on having an apprenticeship program, on having a jobs and hiring program baked into the funding opportunity,” said Small. “This workforce challenge… it is a big one, and it’s going to be a critical one for our economic strength. And we look forward to working with you on this.”

Learn more about all the opportunities available to tolling and other transportation organizations under the IIJA by watching a replay of Small’s webinar here.