VTrans: IIJA will bring about $1.645 billion to Vermont highways over five years

Costa Pappis of VTrans briefed the Chittenden County TAC on the highways component of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) on Feb. 1, 2022. He said IIJA provides five years of authorization and funding levels that will replace the FAST Act and that Vermont is anticipated to receive about $1.645 billion in highway funding over the next five years.

Pappis said IIJA increases funding for Vermont by roughly $570.5 million (about 53%) compared with the FAST Act and creates new programs, including a carbon-reduction program and a resilience formula program, plus dozens of competitive grant programs. He cautioned that guidance from the Federal Highway Administration is pending for many new programs and that some programs will require congressional appropriations and state and local matching funds.

Matthew Langham clarified terminology during the briefing: “off-system means off the federal aid system,” noting that some local bridges may not be on the state system but could be on the federal aid system. Christine Forde noted Vermont is in year two of the VPSP2 program, which will continue to emphasize bridge work and come up at future TAC meetings.

Pappis listed municipal provisions in IIJA that may matter to towns, such as Surface Transportation Block Grant off-system bridge set-asides and general fund bridge set-asides, as well as competitive grant opportunities for downtown revitalization, healthy streets and active transportation. He also identified implementation risks including the need for full Congressional appropriations, pending federal guidance and inflation-driven cost pressures in labor and commodities.

The presentation is posted on the TAC webpage. TAC members were told to expect additional guidance from US DOT and ongoing state conversations about how to allocate competitive and formula funds.