Infra Insight Blog

Ever since both 2016 presidential candidates made infrastructure investment a core component of each of their platforms, we have been waiting for a significant infusion of federal funds to modernize our aging bridges, highways, and transit systems. One of the few remaining bipartisan issues, members of both political parties had high hopes that a large infrastructure bill would be possible. While this has yet to materialize, the Senate, House, and Administration have all taken steps to advance the ball. But with the current transportation law—the Fixing America’s Surface ...

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced (as of last month) the Accelerating Innovative Mobility (AIM) initiative to encourage and advance innovation in the transit sector.  AIM will provide a total of $11 million in challenge grants to transit agencies experimenting with innovative ways of doing business, such as exploring new service delivery models, creative financing, novel partnerships and integrated payment.  As part of the AIM initiative, FTA’s Fiscal Year 2020 competitive grant programs, totaling $615 million, will highlight innovation as part of ...

Los Angeles World Airports (LAWA) announced last Thursday that it has received three Technical Proposals in response to its Request for Proposals for the Automated People Mover (APM) project.

Part of LAWA’s $5.5 billion Landside Access Modernization Program (LAMP), the APM system will be approximately 2.25 miles long and feature an elevated dual lane guideway, six passenger stations, and an off-line maintenance and storage facility.  Three stations will be located within the central terminal area at LAX, and three stations will be located at two new intermodal transportation ...

Enhanced Infrastructure Financing Districts will soon become a reality for many cities and counties looking for a mechanism to perform some functions previously done by redevelopment agencies.  Senate Bill 628 (SB 628) passed the State legislature on August 30, 2014 which, when signed by the Governor, would expand the use of Infrastructure Financing Districts.

SB 628 authorizes the legislative body of a city or county to establish an enhanced infrastructure financing district, adopt an infrastructure financing plan, and issue bonds, for which only the enhanced infrastructure ...

The Transportation Research Board’s (TRB) 5th annual International Conference on Financing Surface Transportation will be held from July 9-11, 2014 at the Arnold and Mabel Beckman Center in Irvine, CA.

The conference will examine the current status of transportation finance and future possibilities through thought-provoking program offerings with presenters from the fields of transportation research, government, and the private sector.

Conference sessions include:

• Innovation, Experimentation and Exploration – The Landscape of Transportation Funding and Finance ...

California will soon have a new authority that can authorize California transportation agencies to toll transportation facilities, eliminating the need for legislative approval for each tolling project. 

AB 798, a bill sponsored by state treasurer Bill Lockyer and recently signed by Governor Schwarzenegger, creates a new state level agency, the California Transportation Finance Authority, with the limited purpose of issuing revenue bonds for new capacity or improvements to the state transportation system at the request of a public sector project sponsor. Project sponsors ...