"President Obama is once again shining the national spotlight on this most critical of issues," said John Horsley, AASHTO executive director. "The president's words and recent actions by congressional leadership on both sides of the aisle give transportation proponents optimism that an agreement can be reached on a multiyear surface transportation reauthorization bill in the near future."

Obama stressed in Tuesday's address the importance of repairing the nation's infrastructure.

"During the Great Depression, America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. After World War II, we connected our states with a system of highways," Obama said, according to a White House transcript of the speech. "Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefitted everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today."

The president told Congress that in the next few weeks, he will sign an executive order "clearing away the red tape that slows down too many construction projects. But you need to fund these projects. Take the money we're no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home."

Horsley said the president's support is important to getting Congress to enact a multiyear surface transportation reauthorization measure. Congress has extended the 2005 highway and transit authorization law known as "SAFETEA-LU" eight times since it originally expired Sept. 30, 2009. The current extension will expire March 31. Bills are expected to move next week through committees of the House (see related story) and Senate (see related story).

"Major transportation projects take years of planning, design, construction, and investment," Horsley said. "State departments of transportation need the certainty and stability that a multiyear authorization bill brings. Passing one short-term extension after the other is not the answer."

FTA Proposes Streamlining Major Transit Awards, Addressing Local Needs & Cutting Red Tape

In response to Obama's call for clearing away red tape that delays project delivery, the Federal Transit Administration proposed Wednesday what it describes as a significant change in the way major transit projects compete for federal funds by streamlining the process and making decisions more responsive to local needs.

"This proposal would move more job-generating bus, rail, and ferry projects from the drawing boards into construction sooner and with less red tape along the way," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement.

The proposed changes could potentially shorten by six months the time now required to approve major New Starts projects, according to the administration.

"This new approach may also result in financial savings for the federal government and local taxpayers by allowing approved projects to begin construction sooner, thereby saving on finance charges and other costs," FTA noted.

"Our process for selecting big capital projects is historically successful -- but at times painfully and unnecessarily complicated," FTA Administrator Peter Rogoff said in a statement. "We're aiming to make common-sense changes that will make a big difference to communities throughout the United States that need more mobility -- and better access to jobs -- sooner rather than later."

The proposed changes are described in FTA's Notice of Proposed Rulemaking published in two separate notices in Wednesday's Federal Register. Those notices are available at 1.usa.gov/FTA1198 and 1.usa.gov/FTA1195.

A 60-day public comment period on the proposed rule is now underway. FTA also plans to hold a number public listening sessions and an online informational webinar; details will be announced in a future Federal Register notice.