The 'INVEST in America Act' Would Help States Kick the Highway Habit

While Congress debates its bipartisan infrastructure deal, a House-approved bill, the INVEST in America Act, waits in the wings with the potential to alter the direction of transportation planning in the United States.

2 minute read

July 20, 2021, 10:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


I-71 I-70 Columbus OH

Dailynetworks at English Wikipedia / I-71 I-70 Columbus OH

"House Democrats are trying to use a massive climate and infrastructure bill to change how Americans get around — by breaking states’ decades-old fondness for building highways," writes Sam Mintz to sum up the stakes in the ongoing negotiations in Congress to finalize a bipartisan infrastructure bill.

Mintz is focusing on legislation approved in July by the House of Representatives—specifically, the $500 million INVEST in America Act (or federal transportation reauthorization) included in the larger "Moving Forward Act" infrastructure bill. According to Mintz, the INVEST in America Act has the potential to significantly shift infrastructure planning and funding in the United States, "baking climate policies into transportation." (The transportation sector is the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States.) The various layers of spending bills approved by the House also represent components of the American Jobs Plan proposed by the Biden administration in March with similar ambitions for changing the course of America's car-centric infrastructure tradition.

According to Mintz, the "INVEST in America Act" has encountered opposition from "state transportation departments and the road-building lobby." The U.S. Senate is working on a compromise, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Framework, that responds to some of those interests and could eventually influence the fate of the bill. Negotiations on Capitol Hill this week are reportedly not promising for the climate-friendly potential of the bill.

The purpose of Mintz's article is not to untangle the intricacies of Congressional lawmaking, but to reveal the history and consequences of the car-centric focus of U.S. transportation infrastructure planning and spending. "States have tended to use one primary strategy to tackle congestion: adding new highways or expanding existing ones," writes Mintz.

The aggregate evidence is staggering when considered in context of the scant signs of congestion relief and the encroaching realities of climate change: "From 1993 to 2017, states laid down 30,511 new miles of freeway lanes in the hundred largest urbanized areas — a 42 percent increase in highway capacity."

The INVEST in America Act would out a stop to the highway building proclivity by setting limits on the use of the National Highway Performance Program, asking states to "consider whether an 'operational improvement or transit project' would be more cost-effective than expanding capacity for single-occupancy vehicles," reports Mintz.

Sunday, July 18, 2021 in Politico

courses user

As someone new to the planning field, Planetizen has been the perfect host guiding me into planning and our complex modern challenges. Corey D, Transportation Planner

As someone new to the planning field, Planetizen has been the perfect host guiding me into planning and our complex modern challenges.

Corey D, Transportation Planner

Ready to give your planning career a boost?

Graphic with blue background, flags, and text reading 2024 Presidential Election

Where 2024 Presidential Candidates Stand on 12 Issues Important to Urban Planners

Whether you’re yet undecided or have already cast your early vote, here is a roundup of the key positions of Vice President Kamala Harris and former President Donald Trump on important urban planning policies.

October 31, 2024 - Planetizen

Amtrak Coast Starlight passenger train passing over bridge in Altamont Pass, California.

Amtrak Expanding Service in California’s Central Valley

Amtrak is planning a major expansion to the passenger rail lines connecting the Central Valley and the Bay Area.

November 4, 2024 - The Modesto Bee

Affordable housing

Commentary: How Can We Solve America’s Affordable Housing Crisis? CDFIs are the Key

As financial institutions whose mission is to support underserved communities, community development financial institutions can be key partners to ensure public-private efforts to build affordable housing pencil out.

October 31, 2024 - Bernel Hall

Downtown Denver as seen from behind Union Station roof sign.

Denver Voters Approve Downtown Revitalization Bonds

The city wants to bring new projects and residents to the downtown core, where 13 million feet of vacant office and retail space await new tenants.

3 hours ago - Smart Cities Dive

View of multistory buildings under construction in downtown Seattle, Washington with Space Needle and Mount Rainier in background.

Seattle Has No Plans to Ditch Parking Requirements

An update to the city’s comprehensive plan will reduce, but not fully eliminate, parking mandates for housing developments.

4 hours ago - The Urbanist

Bears Ears National Monument

Future of Public Lands Looks Litigious Under Trump

Experts say monuments and “unappropriated” federal lands will likely be the target for expanded drilling, mining, and other development under a new Trump administration.

5 hours ago - Bloomberg