LYNCHBURG, Va. – Transportation leaders are calling the infrastructure deal a ‘historic moment’ for the country’s transportation system.
The U.S. Department of Transportation says the bipartisan support invests $13 billion towards making roadways safer and $90 billion for replacing aging rail cars and buses with cleaner-energy trains and vehicles.
They want to use new technology to create more modern and safer streets, preventing serious injuries and deaths on the roads.
“This is going to be the largest investment in roads, bridges and highways since the creation of the interstate system. It will allow us to fix up to 10 of the nation’s most economically significant bridges; and as the former New York City [Department of Transportation] commissioner, I can tell you that an economically significant bridge can be a lifeline,” said Polly Trottenberg, Deputy Secretary of the U.S. transportation department.
The deal also enables them to fix more than 15,000 smaller bridges.