Jenniffer González manages to include three of her amendments that benefit the Island in the INVEST Act

Washington, D.C. - After a hearing that spanned more than 24 hours, the House Committee of Transportation and Infrastructure yesterday approved H.R. 2, Investing in a New Vision for the Environment and Surface Transportation in America (INVEST in America) Act, which authorizes surface transportation programs and contemplates investments and grants of $494 billion for the next five years.

Congresswoman González-Colón, who was active in the hearing while participating in the agenda of Rear Admiral Peter Brown and the White House delegation visit to Puerto Rico, managed to include three amendments to the bill that directly impacts the Island.

The first of the Congresswoman's amendments adopted by the committee allows the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to obtain additional data from the University Transportation Centers known as UTC, such as the University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez and private sector providers necessary to develop the transportation demand data and the modeling study. The study will help to better understand the changing patterns of transportation demands, while formulating data to build forecasts, helping travelers make informed decisions and reduce traffic congestion.

The University of Puerto Rico - Mayagüez campus is part of the National Institute for Congestion Reduction and contributes to the only research policy initiative to reduce congestion. By allowing the Secretary of Transportation to purchase research and data, UPR-Mayagüez will continue to work on critical issues and solve national problems.

The committee adopted the Congresswoman's amendment, to include funds for pre-disaster training programs necessary to increase resiliency for transportation assets such as Federal-Aid Highways. This includes developing necessary programs to help regional agencies and entities involved plan and prepare for recovery efforts and a teleworking program at the regional level, to provide flexibility to those who can continue to work from where they are.

"One lesson learned from the 2017 hurricanes is that the more planning and preparation work that can be done beforehand, the chances of reducing and mitigating losses from a natural disaster are increased. Immediately after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, the island's transportation and communications infrastructure were destroyed. No commercial truck could transit the main roads due to the rubble and the state of our roads and bridges. Food, water, medicine and supplies arrived on the island, but were stranded in the port of San Juan, unable to reach those in need until roads and bridges were made passable. There must be a continuity of thought in pre-disaster planning," said Rep. González-Colón.

Another of the Congresswoman's amendments adopted by the committee encourages the Secretary of Transportation to include projects that include elements of management and operations of multimodal transportation systems in the prioritization process of Community Climate Innovation Grants.

"Multimodal transportation systems management and operations projects are specifically designed to help agencies manage transportation networks, provide information to travelers, and be able to address incidents quickly. This will be critical for areas where large events like concerts, sporting events or conventions take place," said Rep. González-Colón. This will also help mitigate congestion around high traffic hours around the San Juan metro area to bring this a little closer to Puerto Rico

The INVEST in America Act proposes to authorize funding for surface transportation infrastructure, but it is not legislation that appropriates direct funds for specific projects, but rather to establish budgetary guidelines under which, competitive applications for funding can be submitted for projects by entities such as DTOP, Highways, the Commission for Traffic Safety and municipalities.

Currently, Puerto Rico receives $158 million a year under the Puerto Rico Highway Program. These funds feed into projects of the Highway and Transportation Authority. H.R. 2 increases this amount to $210 million per year, representing an increase of 33%.

The project also prioritizes the repair of current roads and bridges, including 47,000 structurally deficient bridges, while seeking to modernize and strengthen local and national transport networks, by creating programs such as the Gridlock Reduction Grant Program, or the Vehicle Congestion Reduction Grant Program designed to provide local governments with a contribution of federal funds to address connectivity and reduce road congestion.

Includes authorizations up to $319 billion for improvements to highway infrastructure, including bridge repair; $105 billion for transit, including authorization of funds for agencies for public transportation improvements; $10 billion investments in passenger vehicle and commercial vehicle safety, including an increase in funding for the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) safety program and $60 billion in railroad investments, which includes increased funding and the creation of new grant programs to modernize and improve rail passenger transport.