NACo sends letter to USDOT urging support for county priorities in surface transportation reauthorization
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Ben Gilsdorf
Rachel Yeung
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Key Takeaways
On July 21, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) published a Request for Information to gather recommendations from stakeholders across transportation sectors as the agency works to develop its priorities for the upcoming surface transportation reauthorization bill. The current surface transportation law, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, will expire on September 30, 2026.
As the owners of 44 percent of public road miles and 38 percent of bridges nationwide, counties are important stakeholders in our nation’s transportation system. Importantly, county-owned infrastructure and locally owned infrastructure more generally tends to be in worse condition than state-owned infrastructure. This means that efforts to improve the overall transportation system must prioritize investments in counties and county-owned infrastructure.
NACo’s submission outlined several high-level county priorities for the upcoming bill, including improving county access to federal formula funding, improving the grant process, supporting locally led safety work, strengthening rail safety and streamlining permitting while protecting local consultation requirements. NACo’s letter is organized according to the four broad priorities that USDOT Secretary Sean Duffy laid out in July: enhancing transportation safety, accelerating project delivery, increasing opportunities and strengthening partnerships.
In addition to this letter, NACo also submitted a letter with its peers in the Local Officials in Transportation (LOT) Coalition, which includes the National League of Cities, U.S. Conference of Mayors, National Association of Regional Councils, National Association of Development Organizations and the Association of Metropolitan Planning Organizations. This letter outlined how Congress could better enable local and regional government groups to implement federal transportation funds and advance national objectives locally.
Read LOT Coalition’s Letter Submission
Take action!
County leaders can submit their own letters to USDOT’s Request for Information by September 8, 2025, electronically. Share your support for county priorities in the next surface transportation reauthorization by filling out and submitting NACo’s template letter.
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