Infrastructure

Our transportation infrastructure has been at the heart of America’s success, from the Erie Canal to the interstate highway system. Yet, across the country, the infrastructure that helped build our great economy has fallen into disrepair. Congresswoman Slaughter believes investing in our nation's transportation infrastructure should be one of our top priorities. Such investments would not only put millions of Americans back to work, but would also allow our nation to remain economically competitive in the global economy of the 21st century.

In addition to rebuilding our roads and airports, the congresswoman strongly supports the development of fast, efficient, and affordable rail travel in Rochester and Western New York. As a result of the congresswoman’s efforts, Amtrak ridership to and from Rochester has steadily improved, and ridership across the country has been growing. Those numbers will only increase as rail travel becomes more efficient and convenient.

Priorities

• Maintaining National Infrastructure: Congresswoman Slaughter recognizes the need for sustainable funding to maintain and repair our nation’s crumbling infrastructure. The American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) gives our country’s infrastructure a nearly failing grade of D+. This is certainly evident in Monroe County, where 43 percent of bridges are rated as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete, higher than the national average. Additionally, 60 percent of the roads in New York are in poor or mediocre condition. ASCE recommends the United States invest $3.6 trillion by 2020 to bring U.S. infrastructure to a state of good repair. The congresswoman strongly supports that goal.
• Upstate Passenger Rail: Improving passenger rail service in Rochester is one of the congresswoman’s top priorities. The repair of existing tracks and the creation of a third rail dedicated to passengers will allow people to move efficiently back and forth across the Upstate region, improve commerce, generate new tourism opportunities, and spark the economic revitalization of Western New York for generations to come.
• Rochester High Speed Rail: Connecting Rochester to the rest of New York with high-speed rail will revitalize Monroe County. Congresswoman Slaughter advocates for an enhanced transportation system across the state that will allow daily commuters easy access to New York City and beyond, attract businesses to Rochester, and improve the economic capacity of the area.

Accomplishments

• Intermodal Transportation Center (ITC): Congresswoman Slaughter has been a leader in supporting the development of the new Rochester Intermodal Transportation Center. She secured $15 million in federal funding through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grant program that contributed a bulk of the funding for the station. Construction began in December of 2014.
• Inner Loop: In 2013, the congresswoman secured $17.7 million in federal funding to bring the eastern section of the Inner Loop to grade, which will connect Rochester neighborhoods that have been separated since the 1950s. This project has the potential to create thousands of jobs while opening up over nine acres for economic development and reconnecting areas of our city that have been cut off from downtown for far too long. Construction began in November of 2014.
• Airport Improvements: The congresswoman has helped secure $27 million for improvements at the Greater Rochester International Airport since 2007. These funds have been used for projects to rehabilitate runways and taxiways at the airport, as well as other important improvements to make air travel to and from Rochester easier and safer.
• Rail Funding: Congresswoman Slaughter has fought hard to improve passenger rail in the Rochester area. She has secured $58.1 million for the design and construction of a dedicated third passenger track in the Empire Corridor. Additionally, she obtained $48.6 million for the construction of high-level platforms and track realignment that will improve service at the Rochester station. Her work on passenger rail safety dates back to 1987, when she introduced successful legislation mandating automatic train control to enforce speed limits on certain portions of Amtrak’s Northeast Corridor.
• Highway Trust Fund (HTF): The Highway Trust Fund, the main source of federal investments for transportation projects, has not been sufficient to keep pace with our growing infrastructure needs. To address this, Congresswoman Slaughter was an original co-sponsor of the National Infrastructure Development Bank Act. This bill would leverage private funding and investments in critically needed infrastructure projects across the country. The congresswoman also co-sponsored the Stop Corporate Expatriation and Invest in America’s Infrastructure Act. This bill would close a corporate tax loophole and direct those new funds towards the HTF, which would amount to $33 billion over ten years.
• Co-Chair Congressional High-Speed and Intercity Rail Caucus: Congresswoman Slaughter is the founder and co-chair of the bicameral, bipartisan Congressional High-Speed and Intercity Passenger Rail Caucus. This caucus of senators and representatives advocates for an improved high-speed and intercity passenger rail network that will reduce greenhouse emissions, clear clogged highways, and improve the flow of goods and people across the United States.