‘BUILD’ing a Traditional Path in the Next Transportation Bill

House T&I Committee Unveils Initial Reauthorization Plan

It seems fitting that a bill written during the nation’s 250th anniversary celebration incorporates “traditional” ways in forging its future path.

In May, less than two months before the nation’s 250th birthday, the U.S. House Transportation & Infrastructure (T&I) Committee passed House Resolution 8870, which is the initial version of the federal transportation reauthorization bill that would replace the Infrastructure Investment & Jobs Act (IIJA). The IIJA, which since 2021 has authorized spending and policy for highways, bridges, public transit, rail, airport and other infrastructure across the U.S., ends September 30.

The proposed $580-billion Building Unrivaled Infrastructure & Long-term Development for America’s 250th Act (BUILD 250) provides direction for the next five years (Fiscal Years 2027-2031) of federal funding.

BUILD 250 takes the nation’s surface transportation program down a familiar route.

The IIJA was headlined by the program’s $1.2 trillion amount. However, the program with the 13-figure dollar amount crossed the centerline from funding “transportation” to funding “infrastructure” initiatives – as roughly $500 billion (40%) of IIJA funding was allocated to roads and bridges and the rest included non-transportation infrastructure.

IIJA funding comes from both the Highway Trust Fund and General Fund – of which General Fund appropriations have also been used for broadband/internet access; water/wastewater; power/energy grids; environmental remediation/climate resilience; and other initiatives.

Of BUILD 250’s $580 billion in total authorization, there is approximately an 80-20 split of funding coming from the Highway Trust Fund ($474.4 billion) and annual appropriations from the General Fund.

According to ForConstructionPros.com (“How the Build America 250 Act Shapes Roadbuilding”):

“This is a return to the status quo … One thing to note, right out of the gate, is that BUILD is structured in a completely different, but more traditional, way than the IIJA.”

The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA), summarizes (“The BUILD America 250 Act: An ARTBA Analysis”) BUILD 250 as:

• Maintaining core formula programs
• Creating new revenue for the Highway Trust Fund
• Providing reforms to enhance project delivery and work zone safety

Brookings Institution, a Washington, D.C.-based thinktank, stated in its commentary (“The BUILD America 250 Act: What Congress Gets Right and Wrong in its New Transportation Bill”) that it sees a change in policy direction for the nation’s transportation program. “The (BUILD 250) bill effectively pairs reduced congressional vision with greater state autonomy. States receive a larger share of total funding via highway formula programs, and the dollars are made more flexible …”

National Asphalt Pavement Association (NAPA) President/CEO Audrey Copeland called BUILD 250 “a major step forward” for the heavy/highway construction industry, saying, “The $580 billion primarily dedicated to core surface transportation is a landmark investment for the American people who rely on safe, reliable roads every day …”

According to ARTBA, funding for highway and bridge programs would increase 5.6% in FY 2027 and incrementally throughout the five-year program “with the bulk of the increase borne by the bridge program. This bill, with its enhanced work zone safety protections, is equally historic for the American workers who build our roads.”

Through BUILD 250, Ohio would receive an estimated $10.9 billion in Federal-Aid Highway Program Apportionments & Bridge Formula Funds; this is approximately $1 billion more than it received under IIJA.

Compared to the estimated $2.02 billion the state is receiving in FY26 through IIJA, Ohio would see the following estimated year-by-year increase in highway and bridge funding under BUILD 250:

The estimated nearly $11 billion that Ohio would receive in highway and bridge funding in BUILD 250 is the seventh-highest amount among states – behind Texas, California, Florida, New York, Pennsylvania and Illinois.

BUILD 250 eliminates some IIJA programs while preserving/expanding and creating other federal policies:

• BUILD 250 Eliminates, Sunsets or Revises: the Carbon Reduction Program (CRP); Charging & Fueling Infrastructure; Neighborhood Access & Equity Grant; Reconnecting Communities; and Environmental Review Implementation Funds. In addition, the PROTECT (Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient & Cost-Saving Transportation Program) ends and becomes a discretionary grant program.
• BUILD 250 Preserves/Expands: the National Highway Performance Program (NHPP); Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG); Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP); Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ); the National Highway Freight Program, which will become known as the National Highway Freight & High Priority Corridor Program; Bridge Investment; Transportation Infrastructure Finance & Innovation Act (TIFIA); Tribal Transportation Programs; and Safe Streets & Roads for All
• BUILD 250 Creates: the Surface Transportation Accelerator Grant Program (STAG); Federal Motor Vehicle EV/Plug-in Registration Fee; Federal Framework for Autonomous Commercial Vehicles; and the Bridge Completion Program

STAG would be a $2.4-billion-a-year plan replacing the IIJA’s Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program. According to ARTBA, STAG would be funded at $2.4 billion a year – $12 billion over the five-year BUILD 250 program – with 50% of the grants going to local/regional projects, 25% to rural projects and 25% to urban projects.

The Federal Motor Vehicle EV/Plug-in Registration Fee would help remedy the Highway Trust Fund’s insolvency. The new fee would amount to $130 a year for EVs and $35 annually for hybrid vehicles. According to ARTBA, “The proposal would take a small step forward by creating the first new revenue into the HTF in decades (since 1993) …” The fees would gradually increase every two years before capping at $150 for EVs and $50 for hybrid vehicles.

Brookings commented: “These new fees tied to EVs and hybrids do not close the HTF funding gap. Not even close. It will bring in single-digit billions per year in new revenue, which is great, but it does not erase the decades of shortfall. More will have to be done to save the HTF.”

The Federal Framework for Autonomous Commercial Vehicles program would provide one uniform federal safety standard for commercial trucks to use automated driving systems (ADS) when transporting interstate commerce. Currently there are a variety of state-by-state regulations dictating the use of ADS.

Designed to help states and local agencies finish major bridge projects that are stalled or facing significant budget gaps, the Bridge Completion Program would provide up to $2 billion a year in discretionary grants subsidized through the General Fund.

BUILD 250, according to ARTBA, “puts an emphasis on bridges, investing $9.2 billion annually, boosting resources by $1 billion per year over current law.”

With BUILD 250’s total bridge investment being $46 billion, most of the funding would be distributed to states through a Bridge Formula Program – which would allow projects to be expedited. “No state would receive less than $75 million annually in bridge formula funds,” writes ARTBA. “The remaining funds would be distributed based on total deck area and total deck area in poor condition. 25% of funds must be set-aside for local and off-system bridges.”

The set-aside for local and off-system bridges, as can be imagined, is welcomed by the National Association of Counties (NACo). Under BUILD 250, the 25% set aside is an increase from IIJA’s 15%. In its report (“House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee Advances Bipartisan Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill”), NACo calls the proposed Bridge Formula Program “a major win for counties.”

Brookings notes that the Bridge Formula Program should mean more lettings for paving contractors who are active in small-bridge and approach-work in rural and county road markets.

Other BUILD 250 proposals include the expediting of project completion and work zone safety:

Project Delivery

BUILD 250’s reforms in project delivery are an effort “to improve permitting efficiency without changing underlying environmental standards or protections,” according to ARTBA. The goal with One Federal Decision is to make project delivery “more predictable, less duplicative, and less paperwork intensive.”

Included in BUILD 250’s One Federal Decision are:

• Shortened timelines and page limits to ensure reviews are on-track and streamlined across federal agencies
• Requirements for environmental assessments to be completed within one year
• Required/reinforced environmental impact statements to meet the two-year timeline
• Increased Major Project thresholds from $50 million to $100 million – so mid-sized projects would be free of additional oversight requirements
• Significantly increased project thresholds on totally and limited federally funded projects to enable more projects to move forward without “complex environmental review”
• Doubles the timeframe for National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) assignment renewals by states qualified to conduct the environmental review process

Work Zone Safety

Each year, according to the U.S. DOT, 90-120 roadway workers are killed and thousands more are injured in work zone incidents. BUILD 250 has a Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP) that would study data collection gaps, work zone safety contingency funds, data sharing on crashes and awareness campaigns.

According to ARTBA, BUILD 250 would create the Roadway Worker Protection Interagency Worker Group. The group would include multiple federal agencies and focus “on transportation and labor/safety issues around crashes in work zones.”

Watch Your Steps

While BUILD 250 is the first “version” of the post-IIJA transportation bill to be passed by committee, it won’t be the last.

Since the 119th Congress commenced in January 2025, U.S. House and Senate committees have been working on reauthorization proposals. Following May’s BUILD 250 release, the House Energy & Commerce, Ways & Means and Science, Space & Technology committees have been reviewing – and revising – the House T&I’s proposal prior to it being introduced and voted on by the full 435-member House.

The U.S. Senate is also working on its version of the next transportation bill. According to ARTBA, once the Senate Environment & Public Works Committee releases its version, it will be reviewed/revised by the Senate’s Banking Housing & Urban Affairs, Commerce Science & Transportation, and Finance committees. The final version of the bill will then be introduced and voted on by the full 50-member Senate.

Any differences between the House and Senate bills will then be reconciled by a joint committee before a final vote in the House and Senate and the final bill is sent to and signed by the President.

On-Time Arrival?

Will a new federal transportation bill be passed by IIJA’s September 30 deadline?

According to ForConstructionPros.com, over the past 35 years nearly one-third of reauthorization bills were not completed on-time – causing Congress to enact short-term extensions to keep programs funded and operating. And based on the current political calendar it looks like there will be an extension.

With 2026 being a mid-term election year – and nearly 88% of the 535 U.S. Representatives and Senators up for re-election – Brookings writes: “There are obvious reasons to be skeptical of whether this Congress can pass a final version of legislation before a new Congress is sworn in. Some House Republicans have red lines on federal spending; Senate schedules are packed and difficult to coordinate across four relevant committees; the filibuster is in play; and fast-approaching mid-term elections apply specific pressures. But even if the bill doesn’t become law now, the work that went into designing the BUILD Act’s programs could give its proposals serious momentum …”