Surface Transportation Program

Surface Transportation Program
Name	Surface Transportation Program
Established	1982
Agency	United States Department of Transportation - Federal Highway Administration
Budget	Varies; authorized under Surface Transportation Assistance Act amendments and Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act
Type	Federal-aid highway program
Website	(see Federal Highway Administration)

Contents

Surface Transportation Program

The Surface Transportation Program provides flexible funding to states and localities for transportation projects on eligible facilities, supporting roads, bridges, transit, and safety initiatives. Created to consolidate earlier categorical programs, it channels resources through the Federal Highway Administration to state departments such as the California Department of Transportation, New York State Department of Transportation, and Texas Department of Transportation while coordinating with metropolitan planning organizations like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and regional authorities such as the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey.

Background and Purpose

The program originated amid policy debates in the United States Congress during the early 1980s, influenced by contemporaneous laws like the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982 and later capped by comprehensive statutes including the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991 and the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century. It was designed to streamline funding previously distributed through programs created under the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1956, to address priorities highlighted by agencies such as the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Environmental Protection Agency, and to support initiatives championed by mayors in cities like Chicago, Los Angeles, and Philadelphia.

Funding flows from the Highway Trust Fund and is authorized by acts including the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act. Allocation formulas consider factors legislated by the United States Congress and negotiated by the Office of Management and Budget with input from state executives such as the Governor of California and legislative delegations like the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Recipients include state departments (for example, the Oregon Department of Transportation), regional entities like the Metropolitan Transportation Authority and tribal governments such as the Cherokee Nation, with sub-allocation to metropolitan planning organizations including the Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning.

Eligible uses span highway reconstruction and capital projects on the National Highway System and non-NHS roads, bridge rehabilitation involving structures listed by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, transit capital projects for agencies like MTA (New York City Transit) and Bay Area Rapid Transit, and safety programs promoted by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. The program also supports bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure advocated by organizations such as the Rails-to-Trails Conservancy and environmental mitigation measures guided by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service for projects crossing habitats near places like the Everglades National Park.

The Federal Highway Administration administers national policy while state departments—New Jersey Department of Transportation, Florida Department of Transportation, Pennsylvania Department of Transportation—manage project selection, contracting, and compliance with statutes including the National Environmental Policy Act and Americans with Disabilities Act. Metropolitan planning organizations such as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area) and regional councils like the Nashville Area Metropolitan Planning Organization develop priority lists through processes involving officials from cities like Seattle and Denver and agencies including the Federal Transit Administration. Contracting firms, labor unions such as the International Brotherhood of Teamsters, and engineering groups like the American Society of Civil Engineers often participate in implementation.

Performance tracking aligns with national goals set by the United States Department of Transportation and reporting requirements tied to laws enacted by the United States Congress. Metrics often derive from frameworks used by organizations such as the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials and include pavement condition inventories like those maintained by the National Cooperative Highway Research Program, bridge sufficiency ratings referenced by the National Bridge Inventory, and congestion measures used by metropolitan agencies such as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (San Francisco Bay Area). Outcomes reported by state departments and agencies—including the Virginia Department of Transportation and the Michigan Department of Transportation—inform reauthorization debates in the United States Senate and oversight by committees like the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure.

Key legislation shaping the program includes the Surface Transportation Assistance Act of 1982, the Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act of 1991, the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU), Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21), and the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act). Reauthorization cycles have been influenced by policymakers in the United States Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works and the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, with high-profile advocates including secretaries of transportation from administrations led by presidents such as Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, Barack Obama, and Donald Trump.