Click here to watch Senator Blunt Rochester’s full exchange with the witnesses.
Washington, DC –Today, U.S. Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester (D-Del.), a member of the Senate Environment and Public Works (EPW) Committee, participated in a hearing titled, “Constructing the Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill: Stakeholders’ Perspectives.” The hearing examined the importance of the surface transportation reauthorization, which is set to expire next year. In her questions, Blunt Rochester focused on the Reconnecting Communities Program, which she championed in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and the impact digital infrastructure investments have on road safety and saving lives.
To watch Blunt Rochester’s full exchange with the witnesses, click here. Key excerpts can be found below:
On the Reconnecting Communities Program
Senator Blunt Rochester: “My colleagues have heard me mention the Reconnecting Communities Program before, and this program addresses physical barriers and connects people to jobs, essential services, and economic opportunities while correcting historic injustices and harms to communities due to past infrastructure decisions. Our goal is to make the best decisions for all of us. I was grateful to get this program into the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law during my time in the House. Mayor Gallego, the City of Phoenix received one of the last rounds of RCP planning awards. Can you tell us a little bit about the canal street project and why the funding is essential?”
Mayor Gallego: “Thank you. Phoenix is grateful for your leadership on this project. It makes so much sense for us. And it may be a surprise to some people, Phoenix has more miles of canals than Venice. The canal system was really important for delivering water infrastructure to farms in Phoenix’s early days, but it has become an important transportation corridor. Unfortunately, there is some major conflicts now with rail. There is not a safe way across the rail in one part of the grand canal. It also has a real challenge with the freeway. Unfortunately, when you don’t get people a safe way to cross, they still cross. And so, the Reconnecting Communities grant really helps us to make sure we can do that in a way that keeps our residents safe when you have a major crash, including fatalities along rail, it shuts down the rail system. We are so grateful to have that support. These projects are normatively complicated, and we couldn’t deliver it without federal partnership.”
Senator Blunt Rochester: “Can you talk a little bit about what will happen if we fail to reauthorize the Reconnecting Communities Program? Would the City of Phoenix be able to deliver on this project?”
Mayor Gallego: “Unfortunately, this project is enormously complex, and we really need the federal partnership. I should take the time to say thank you, because these investments allow us to save lives. And I get to meet the people who live along the way, and who don’t have to worry about their kids running across a rail anymore. You don’t always get to, so on their behalf, thank you.”
Senator Blunt Rochester: “Thank you for sharing that. I think there are members on both sides of the dais who have multiple projects that will benefit, including in my home state, at the top of my state Wilmington, all the way down to our rural counties, in Georgetown, Delaware. It is vitally important. We want to continue this. I will be introducing legislation to get this done, and I urge my colleagues to join me in expanding the Reconnecting Communities Program in the next surface transportation bill.”
On Digital Infrastructure
Senator Blunt Rochester: “I’d like to shift gears a little bit to digital infrastructure. Mayor, you also spoke a little bit about encouraging smart technology and AI, and I would love to ask you and the governor: how could increased investment in digital infrastructure – things like radar-based detection systems at intersections, live travel advisories, contribute to safety and mobility on our roads alongside traditional physical infrastructure?”
Governor Armstrong: “I think piggybacking a little bit off of what the mayor said on safety, we passed a new – our legislature passed a bill – raised our speed limit, raised our fines, but limit and raise our fines, but that is probably not the safest part of the bill. We are now doing digital speed limits and requirements when we have the adverse weather, which is snow, and blizzards, and icy roads, and we can do that in real time now. I think if you are about mileage and costs, I mean, we are looking at running our entire state fleet through an AI program to see how we buy cars, where we park cars, are we driving them too much, are we not driving them enough? There is opportunities to do a lot of these things. And then I think, just from just the way you model our infrastructure – knowing what your traffic flow is and knowing where it’s at. It doesn’t matter if you’re in a rural state like North Dakota or on the East Coast, you can prioritize how you are spending this money and spending it better.”
Mayor Gallego: “We have been lucky to receive federal support for advanced signals. Signal technology is so important to the City of Phoenix. We can give our firefighters signal priority so they get where they are going more quickly. If you are experiencing a stroke, the amount of time while your brain does not receive blood is really important. Seconds matter. And so giving our firefighters a little bit of an advantage matters so much. We also have a real challenge with, unfortunately, pedestrian fatalities and red light running. There is technology today that we are going to be able to install things to the Infrastructure and Jobs Act that can stop a signal if someone is in the intersection and save a life. I had a very important boss who was killed in one of these accidents. And I hope my work as mayor of Phoenix will mean that fewer people won’t to go through that. But your investment in this technology helps us save lives.”
Senator Blunt Rochester: “Thank you, madam mayor. I will be pushing for digital infrastructure formula funding and hopefully, that will save more lives.”
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Senator Lisa Blunt Rochester represents Delaware in the United States Senate where she serves on the Committees on Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs; Commerce, Science, and Transportation; Environment and Public Works; and Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions.