SECTION: CAPITOL HILL HEARING TESTIMONY

LENGTH: 1884 words

COMMITTEE: HOUSE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE

SUBCOMMITTEE: HIGHWAY AND TRANSIT

HEADLINE: HIGHWAY PROGRAM OVERSIGHT

TESTIMONY-BY: BRADLEY L. MALLORY, SECRETARY

AFFILIATION: PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION

BODY:
U. S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES COMMITTEE ON TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE SUBCOMMITTEE ON HIGHWAYS AND MASS TRANSIT

HEARING ON TEA-21 SUCCESS STORIES

OCTOBER 18, 2001

Statement by Bradley L. Mallory Secretary Pennsylvania Department of Transportation

Good morning, Mr. Chairman and members of the Subcommittee. I am Bradley L. Mallory, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and Vice-President of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO). Thank you for the opportunity to appear before you today to share my views on TEA-21, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21St Century.

Quite candidly, Mr. Chairman, I could talk for much longer than you have time to listen about the many positive experiences we've had with TEA-21 in Pennsylvania and the Northeast. I firmly believe that the progress that has been made in advancing the "state of the practice" in transportation planning, design, construction, maintenance, and operations is due in large part to the vision and flexibility provided first in the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) and now in its successor, TEA-21. I'm also convinced that the policies and directions of the federal-aid transportation program have benefited not only personal safety, mobility, and the movement of goods and services throughout this great county, but also that the quality of life has improved for all citizens. I would make several specific points in this regard:

Investment in transportation infrastructure and service improvements is at an alltime high. In Pennsylvania, for example, our annual level of construction contracts for highway and bridge improvements has increased from $753 million in 1995 to nearly $1.4 billion in 2000. And, we expect to reach about $1.5 billion in 2001 and at least that much in 2002. Add to that investments of about $250 million per year for transit infrastructure improvements and rolling stock in the Commonwealth. While these numbers reflect financing from federal, state and local sources, clearly federal funding from both the Highway Trust Fund and the General Fund is a mainstay.

These record investment levels are making a difference in the condition of the transportation system. Again citing an example from Pennsylvania, using the International Roughness Index (IRI) as a measure of pavement smoothness, our 1,760-mile Interstate System in the Commonwealth has improved from an IRI value of 155 in 1987 to an IRI value of 88 in 2000. The national Interstate median IRI value is 90. The lower the number, the smoother the pavement. This dramatic improvement was only made possible through targeted spending of TEA-21 funds.

The addition of new and visionary elements like transportation enhancements to the federal-aid program to buttress the traditional "bricks and mortar" elements has substantially broadened the constituency for transportation programs in many if not all states.

While there is still a long way to go, substantial progress has been made in advancing the cause of intermodalism, which was ISTEA's "first name." More of us think seriously these days about alternative modal solutions to transportation needs than just a few years ago, and TEA-21 gives us optional financing tools and funding flexibility to actually implement the best solutions.

The impressive accomplishments that TEA-21 has enabled are exemplified by the following project examples:

Transportation options are a hallmark in the Northeast. TEA-21 gave new life to New York City's two-decade old subway station rehabilitation. The Metropolitan Transportation Authority is renovating the city's 469 subway stations. The system is also buying new cars and renovating tracks and signal systems. New Jersey is building a new transfer station at Secaucus that will allow better access from New Jersey rail lines to midtown Manhattan. In Pennsylvania, TEA-21 helped underwrite transit improvements across the state, such as nearly $470 million in improvements to the Market-Frankford elevated and subway line in Philadelphia.

Pennsylvania, with its large rural population, counts on highways as an important part of the transportation picture. TEA-21 has allowed:

--$217 million in improvements to U.S. Route 30 in the Lancaster Area- a popular tourist destination for the Northeast.

--More than $140 million in improvements to U.S. 15 - a major North-South corridor connecting New York, Pennsylvania and Maryland.

--More than $160 million for the U.S. 222 corridor between Reading and Lancaster.

--More than $100 million to connect Interstate 78 in the Lehigh Valley with Pennsylvania Route 33, a North-South expressway that connects the Lehigh Valley with the Pocono Mountains.

All of these projects underwrite the continued prosperity of Pennsylvania and the region----they are a small sample of what TEA-21 has meant for the Northeast region and the entire country. When one thinks about what makes America great, transportation is high on the list----our mobility is unparalleled, and the funding levels in TEA-21 drive that progress.

It is critically important that we understand and acknowledge that TEA-21 would not be the success that it is without its linchpin-stable and reliable funding. I can't overstate the importance of this central aspect of TEA-21 that is serving the transportation program and its customers so well. Specifically, the guaranteed funding levels, the so-called firewalls, provided for the first time in TEA-21, have enabled us to program and deliver projects in a predictable financial climate. To be sure, the task of developing major transportation projects and preparing them for construction is complex and uncertain enough without having to worry whether or not the annual setting of the obligation ceiling in the appropriations bill will provide adequate funds to build projects when they are finally ready for construction. The guaranteed funding levels in TEA-21 have eased the "intrigue" of funding highway and transit improvements. Also, the Revenue Aligned Budget Authority (RABA) feature of TEA-21 allows funding levels to be adjusted annually to conform with revenue realized in the Highway Trust. In each of the past three years, the RABA adjustment has meant more money for the program, which has been extremely helpful. In practical terms, this all means that we, in our respective federal, state or local capacities, have enhanced credibility. We can assure our customers that all user fees directed to the Highway Trust Fund are being spent for their designated purposes, and we can speak with confidence about the transportation financing picture over a multi-year period.

Mr. Chairman, you've no doubt ascertained that I'm enthused and optimistic about the federal transportation program as it's being implemented under TEA-21, and I'd be remiss if I didn't thank you and the entire subcommittee for your leadership and commitment to making the program the best that it can be. But I also acknowledge, as I'm sure you well recognize, that there is much left to be done. Despite historic transportation funding levels, there are still tremendous unmet needs for transportation infrastructure and services throughout the nation. And, TEA-21 expires less than two years from now, presenting us with the opportunity and challenge to identify and implement even further advances to the transportation program. Pennsylvania and all the states stand ready to work with you on this important task.

Thank you again for the invitation to appear here today, and I commend you for holding this hearing to document the good things that are happening and are made possible by TEA-21.



LOAD-DATE: November 5, 2001