Joung Lee (above at far right) – deputy director and chief policy officer for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials – recently shared insights on U.S. infrastructure trends with delegations from South Korea and Germany in May.
[Above photo via the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce]
Lee’s presentation to the South Korea delegation on May 20 at the U.S. Department of Transportation’s headquarters in Washington, D.C., covered the topics of climate change, transportation resilience, and sustainability, as well as the “close partnership” between the state departments of transportation and the Federal Highway Administration.
“State DOTs own and operate the most important roadways in the country and, in most cases, oversee motor vehicle licensing and registration,” Lee explained. “Some states also run their own transit systems, airports, seaports, and highway patrol [agencies].”
He noted that state DOTs follow the “Triple Bottom Line” approach in how they manage the U.S. infrastructure and systems under their purview. “The first is robust economic growth as state DOTs aim to deliver a sustainable, high-performance transportation system by first optimizing existing infrastructure, then reshaping demand, and lastly expanding judiciously where needed that infrastructure.”
The second part of that approach is to ensure transportation improves the quality of life for all U.S. residents. “That results from integrating transportation with the built [infrastructure] environment by using the full tool kit, including context sensitive solutions, land use policy, and diversified mode choice,” Lee said.
The third part focuses on creating a “better-than-before” environment following construction of transportation infrastructure. “It is about embracing environmental stewardship as a preeminent approach to delivering transportation services that result in a zero-carbon footprint,” he noted.
Lee made similar points in his presentation to the Delegation of German Industry and Commerce in Washington, D.C., on May 22 in relation to the ongoing implementation of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA.
He noted that the “complex funding structure and timelines” outlined in the IIJA made it incumbent on state DOTs to engage in “expectation management” as it requires a multi-year timeline to plan, design, and build transportation infrastructure as well as the time required to apply for discretionary/competitive grants for fiscal support for such projects.
Lee also noted that public-private partnerships or P3s still tend to be seen by elected officials as a way to deliver infrastructure without raising taxes or fees—and that such framing does not capture the true benefits of P3s, which is optimization of risk between the public and private sectors.
“We have been trying to expand this [P3] aperture by emphasizing possible gains while optimizing risk,” he explained to the German delegation. “This sounds great in theory, but it takes a lot of work to get the right contract put together. It also requires a certain scale to make ‘the juice worth the squeeze,’ so to speak, though bundling a large number of similar small projects can help.”
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