N.C. transportation chief pushes for federal transportation funds

North Carolina Secretary of Transportation Tony Tata recently joined a group of state officials to focus on the importance of a national transportation network and the critical need for long-term federal funding to pay for road improvements.

Tata was invited by Bill Shuster, a Pennsylvania congressman and chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, on a tour of Pennsylvania’s infrastructure last week, where officials discussed the need for a strong national infrastructure to facilitate the flow of commerce across state borders.

“The attention that we were able to draw to this, we are hopeful that we were able to educate and garner support for a long-term surface transportation law,” Tata said in an episode of NCDOT Now.

Tata was joined by transportation secretaries from Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Texas.

The nation’s current surface transportation authorization, the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), is set to expire on May 31.

The North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) is focused on maximizing its existing resources and seeking new ways to fund transportation projects. The NCDOT is currently implementing the Strategic Transportation Investments Law that has increased efficiency and the governor’s 25-year vision for transportation in the state.

Still, the state is only able to fund about one in five of the projects that were submitted for prioritization, the department said.