Orange County business leaders are urging congressional representatives to reauthorize \u201ccritical\u201d federal transportation funding ahead of its expiration this fall.<\/p>\n
On Sept. 30, funding through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, is set to expire, which the Orange County Business Council said could disrupt long-term project planning and regional economies if not reauthorized.<\/p>\n
OCBC said reliable transportation infrastructure is critical to the county\u2019s economic growth, and while bipartisan discussions have occurred, \u201cdelays have increased the possibility that Congress may need to pass a short-term extension before reaching agreement on a comprehensive reauthorization.\u201d<\/p>\n
Funding through the BIL has been used for multiple transportation projects throughout Orange County, said Eric Carpenter, a spokesperson for the Orange County Transportation Authority.<\/p>\n
Those include the 5 Freeway project in South County that was completed<\/a> earlier this year, the 5 Freeway widening project<\/a> that began in January and the 91 Freeway improvement project<\/a> between SR-57 and SR-55. That\u2019s in addition to a bevy of smaller projects, such as zero-emission bus purchases, paratransit vehicle replacements, traffic signal upgrades and mobility programs such as OC Connect, Carpenter said.<\/p>\n The BIL was enacted in 2021 under President Joe Biden. It authorized $1.2 billion in spending to invest in national infrastructure, including $550 billion in new spending over five years.<\/p>\n Since then, the BIL allocated $365 billion for roads and bridges, $108 billion for public transit and $102 billion for freight and passenger rail.<\/p>\n Funding from the federal measure is still being doled out.<\/p>\n This month, California\u2019s U.S. Sens. Alex Padilla and Adam Schiff announced four road and highway repair projects \u2014 in Amador, Kern, Riverside and Orange counties \u2014 were awarded nearly $54 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation.<\/p>\n That included funding for Riverside County\u2019s 15 Freeway\/74 Freeway interchange improvement project in Lake Elsinore.<\/p>\n In Orange County, funding will go toward a project to add an eastbound lane on the 91 Freeway, from the 241 Toll Road general purpose connector to the 71 Freeway connector lane, near Anaheim Hills and Yorba Linda, as part of the 91 Freeway Eastbound Corridor Operations Project, according to a press release<\/a>.<\/p>\n Of the lawmakers that represent Orange County, Reps. Mike Levin, D-San Juan Capistrano; Young Kim, R-Anaheim Hills; and Linda S\u00e1nchez, D-Whittier, said they support reauthorizing the funding<\/p>\n Rep. Derek Tran, D-Orange; Dave Min, D-Irvine; and Lou Correa, D-Anaheim, did not respond to a request for comment.<\/p>\n And Reps. Robert Garcia, D-Long Beach, and Ken Calvert, R-Corona \u2014 who could represent communities in Orange County by this time next year, because of the effects of redistricting \u2014 said they would support reauthorization as well.<\/p>\n Separate from the upcoming transportation reauthorization deadline, Congress is in the middle of a budget crunch. The House narrowly passed<\/a> a funding bill Tuesday night, but it faces an uphill battle in the Senate.<\/p>\n Levin said the next transportation reauthorization Congress approves should build on the BIL\u2019s progress.<\/p>\n \u201cThat law made the single-largest infrastructure investment in American history. I have made it a top priority to bring these investments back to pressing projects in our community, including life-saving street safety investments in Laguna Niguel and long-overdue resources to keep Amtrak and Metrolink running for commuters,\u201d Levin said.<\/p>\n Investments in those train systems, he said, are needed as pump prices continue to rise<\/a> as the Iran war enters its sixth month.<\/p>\n Come September, Congress\u2019 opportunity to sustain economic growth into regions like Orange County could come from a new bipartisan infrastructure spending package, said Paul Simonds, senior vice president and CEO of the Orange County Business Council.<\/p>\n Earlier this year, the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee approved the BUILD America 250 Act by a vote of 62-2, marking the first milestone in the process to reauthorize federal surface transportation funding. The legislation is a bipartisan surface transportation proposal that would reauthorize $580 billion in spending over five years, through fiscal year 2030-2031.<\/p>\n If approved, which realistically wouldn\u2019t occur until this fall at the earliest, the bill would represent \u201cthe largest ever investment in America\u2019s bridges,\u201d according to a press release<\/a> from the House committee.<\/p>\n