DRIVE Act receives further support

U.S. Sens. Barbara Boxer (D–CA) and Jim Inhofe (R-OK), both of whom are leaders with the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, recently announced that there has been growing support for S. 1647, the Developing a Reliable and Innovative Vision for the Economy (DRIVE) Act.

“I commend Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Boxer for their leadership and introduction of the DRIVE Act,” Gary Gallegos, executive director of the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), said. “Home to the second busiest U.S.-Mexico border crossing in terms of trade value, San Diego is a fundamental component of the national freight system. SANDAG looks forward to working with our partners in Congress to find a sustainable solution that supports goods movement and infrastructure improvements in San Diego and throughout the country.”

This surface transportation reauthorization bill would last six years.

“We are pleased to see the Senate EPW Committee’s support for a long-term, six-year bill that will give state DOTs the certainty they need to actively pursue sorely needed maintenance and repair of the national transportation system,” Bud Wright, executive director of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO), said. “We specifically commend Chairman Inhofe and Ranking Member Boxer for their ongoing focus on innovation and project streamlining that will help state DOTs improve efficiency and get more out of taxpayers’ investments.”

Montebello, California, Mayor Jack Hadjinian also expressed support for the act on behalf of the Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority.

"The Alameda Corridor-East Construction Authority applauds the inclusion of a National Freight Program and freight-focused Assistance for Major Projects Program in the DRIVE Act,” Hadjinian said. “New and innovative federal freight funding programs such as these are sorely needed to provide substantial federal funding for multimodal trade corridor and gateway projects, especially given that America has fallen from number 1 to number 17 in the world in freight infrastructure and the efficiency of goods movement. These programs will provide opportunities to fund regionally and nationally significant freight infrastructure projects such as the Alameda Corridor-East highway-rail grade separation projects, which often are difficult to fund from existing modal programs."