The next surface transportation reauthorization has every indication of becoming a “transformational” bill that will drive American transportation policy further toward “green” highways and transportation modes.

The existing Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users (SAFETEA-LU) expires at the end of September, and new authorizing legislation must be enacted by then or else the federal surface transportation program will expire.

The House of Representatives took the initiative, reporting a bill in mid-June, which includes a generous, six-year, $337 billion highway investment as part of an overall $450 billion program over six years. Seeking to halt the parade of program extensions seen with previous reauthorizations – the predecessor TEA-21 was extended a record 12 times – House committee chair Rep. James Oberstar (D-Minn.) vowed in May that there would be no extensions to SAFETEA-LU.

However, in mid-July, the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee approved an 18-month extension of SAFETEA-LU. The legislation authorizes the program in FY 2010 at this year’s funding level of $41 billion and provides $20.5 billion in authority for the first six months of FY 2011.

The Senate SAFETEA-LU extension meets the approval of the Obama administration, as the 18-month timeframe dovetails with the administration’s desire to perfect new, “sustainable” surface transportation policy initiatives to include in a long-term reauthorization after March 2011.

“[This] 18-month extension of SAFETEA-LU … will send a message of certainty to all of our states and give us the time to develop a transformational transportation bill with a stable, reliable funding source,” said Senate Environment and Public Works Committee chair Barbara Boxer (D-Calif.) July 15.

Her term of transformational means more emphasis on an “environmental” highway program. “Most of us believe the next surface transportation bill should and must be transformational, to reflect the need for more sustainable communities, cleaner air, and more transportation options for the American people,” Boxer said.

Her words were echoed by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood at the National Association of Counties (NACO) in July. “The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act [stimulus funding bill] is essential to bringing our economy back – but it’s also a dress rehearsal for an even more ambitious effort,” LaHood said. “We want to ensure that transportation plays a major role in our ability to create the kinds of neighborhoods people want to live in; to reduce our dependence on private vehicles and foreign oil; and promote a cleaner, greener environment.

“For too long, federal policy has unfortunately encouraged sprawl and congestion and pollution, rather than quality public transportation and smart, sustainable development. We intend to change that. To do so, we need to re-think our federal spending priorities and focus on transportation investments that more effectively meet the needs of our communities. It’s up to Congress to address these issues in the upcoming transportation reauthorization package – and I assure you, getting this done right is a high priority for President Obama.”

The seriousness of the challenge is underscored by the July 2009 launch of a web site on highlights strategies to reduce greenhouse-gas emissions from the transportation sector.

The American Association of State Highway & Transportation Officials’ new web site – Real Transportation Solutions for Greenhouse Gas Emissions, available at www.transportation1.org/RealSolutions – includes best practices, state examples, research findings, and links to other climate change information sites. The site is structured as to assume that anthropogenic climate change is taking place, and that steps taken by public agencies can reduce the amount of future global warming.

Thus the highway industry must prepare for the next reauthorization’s containing very strong green elements that may restrain the ability to use funds for highway construction. There may be a pronounced shift toward funds for pavement preservation, with a strong capital program for alternative modes, and requirements for use of environmentally sustainable design, construction and materials for eligibility of highway projects for funding.