The project to replace the Interstate 5 bridge between Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver, Washington, is becoming more reality than dream. For those who have traveled that stretch of I-5, or moved goods from the Ports or...more
Happy New Year! The Department of Transportation’s operating agencies have announced their random drug and alcohol testing rates for 2024. These rates are the annual minimum drug and alcohol random testing rates. The rates...more
City Council is Out for the Summer; What Will Fall Bring? City Council is officially on summer recess, but there are plenty of high-profile issues that are sure to be front and center when the legislative body reconvenes in...more
A few months ago we wrote about Congress utilizing the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 to offer bonus tax credits to certain energy facilities for meeting specified “domestic content” requirements. Relying heavily on the...more
Background - On August 16, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (“IRA”). Two of the key objectives of the IRA are to incentivize the industry to produce certain types of renewable...more
The Guidance sets out the requirements for using domestic steel, iron and manufactured products in order for a project to be eligible for the domestic content bonus credit amount. Projects that meet the domestic content...more
For years, domestic content requirements have been a point of pain and frustration for government contractors. Historically, these regimes typically come in the form of the proverbial stick – that is, provide products and/or...more
On Friday, December 23, 2022, Congress passed a $1.7 trillion year-end omnibus spending package which will fund the federal government through FY2023. The bill will be sent to the President’s desk to be signed into law in the...more
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58; IIJA) expanded the scope of the Buy America preference by requiring that all construction materials, iron and steel, and manufactured products used in federally...more
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently announced that it will offer more low-cost flexible financing for both transit and Transit Oriented Development projects under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance...more
The Department of Transportation (DOT) recently published a notice in the Federal Register of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) to amend the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) and the Airport Concession Disadvantaged Business...more
Loan Programs Summary - When President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also referred to as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), into law in November of 2021, the law could not be fully...more
On April 18, 2022, the Biden Administration (through the Office of Management and Budget (“OMB”)) issued OMB Memorandum M-22-11 (the “Guidance”)[1] relating to the “Buy America” sourcing requirements under the “Build America,...more
Transit authorities across the nation rely on the Capital Investments Grants (“CIG”) program administered by the Federal Transit Administration (“FTA”) to fund major capital expenses for expansion and core capacity projects....more
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or “IIJA” (P.L. 117-58) passed on a bipartisan basis in both the House and Senate and was signed by the President one month ago today, on November 15, 2021. One could have assumed...more
The market for fully autonomous vehicles is experiencing rapid growth. The global market size of self-driving cars and trucks is expected to grow from 670,000 units in 2020 to 4.223 million units in 2030 at a Compounded...more
In December 2020, the United States Department of Transportation (DOT) amended the small business size limit under the Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) program (section 1101(b) of the Fixing America’s Surface...more
This is the second in a series of eAlerts on revisions to National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) regulations published in the Federal Register on July 16, 2020, by the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ). The CEQ’s...more
The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has announced (as of last month) the Accelerating Innovative Mobility (AIM) initiative to encourage and advance innovation in the transit sector. ...more
Has your business applied for certification as a Disadvantaged Business Enterprise (DBE) through your state Department of Transportation (or local agency administering the state’s certification program)? Are you wondering...more
The Department of Transportation’s operating agencies have announced their random drug and alcohol testing rates for 2019. The Federal Transit Administration and the United States Coast Guard have raised their random drug...more
Effective today, the Federal Highway Administration (“FHWA”), Federal Transit Administration (“FTA”), and Federal Railroad Administration (“FRA”) begin operating with amended regulations to implement the purposes and...more
Through a Final Rule effective November 28, 2018, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), Federal Transit Administration (FTA), and Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) will amend their National Environmental Policy Act...more
The Federal Transit Administration (“FTA”) recently penned a “Dear Colleague” letter regarding the Agency’s implementation of the Capital Investment Grants Program, stating that FTA will consider federal loans or financing...more
A new Government Accounting Office report says the Federal Transit Administration has failed to meet three statutory requirements (two from MAP-21 and one from the FAST Act) related to the Capital Investments Grant program,...more