SB 3413, the REPAIR Infrastructure Act, would reauthorize and expand the federal Reconnecting Communities program under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, renaming it the Restoring Essential Public Access and Improving Resilient Infrastructure (REPAIR Infrastructure) program. The bill authorizes $3 billion per year for fiscal years 2027 through 2031 from the Highway Trust Fund, with $750 million annually for planning grants and $2.25 billion annually for capital construction grants. It also updates the program’s title and conforming references throughout federal transportation law.
The bill broadens the program’s selection criteria to emphasize projects that improve affordable transportation access, connect communities to jobs and essential services, support disability access, and incorporate community participation, local partnerships, anti-displacement strategies, and affordable housing or commercial space preservation. It also allows applicants to submit land-use information showing efforts to reduce displacement pressures, such as zoning that permits duplexes, triplexes, accessory dwelling units, or reduced parking minimums. In addition, the bill bars REPAIR grant funds from being used to add travel lanes to existing highways, signaling a focus on reconnecting communities rather than highway expansion.
Beyond the core grant program, the bill makes REPAIR-eligible projects eligible under several other federal transportation programs, including the National Highway Performance Program, Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, Highway Safety Improvement Program, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, Territorial Highway Program, National Highway Freight Program, Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program, and Carbon Reduction Program. It also adds a new definition of “divisive roadway infrastructure” to the Highway Safety Improvement Program and directs states, under certain carbon reduction conditions, to prioritize REPAIR-eligible projects before using funds for other eligible projects.
The bill’s impact on state and local transportation policy would be significant because it would steer federal funding toward projects that remove or mitigate transportation barriers created by highways and other large facilities, while encouraging community-centered redevelopment and anti-displacement measures. States, tribes, and local applicants seeking federal transportation funds would face new eligibility pathways and, in some cases, new planning and documentation expectations tied to community benefits, land use, and emissions reduction.
There is no recorded vote or committee transcript in the provided materials, so no formal legislative debate is available. Based on the bill text, the measure appears to be framed positively around equity, access, safety, and resilience, with an emphasis on reconnecting neighborhoods divided by infrastructure. The most likely points of contention are the anti-highway-expansion restriction, the added community and land-use criteria, and the bill’s broader policy direction toward transit-oriented and anti-displacement outcomes rather than traditional road capacity expansion.
The bill would amend multiple provisions of title 23, United States Code, and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to reauthorize the REPAIR Infrastructure program through fiscal year 2031, increase authorized funding, and expand where REPAIR-eligible projects can be funded. It would also revise federal transportation program eligibility and selection criteria, add a definition of divisive roadway infrastructure, and prohibit use of REPAIR grant funds for projects that add travel lanes to existing highways. These changes would affect federal, state, tribal, and local transportation agencies and project sponsors seeking highway and surface transportation funding.
No committee transcript or vote record was provided, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment to summarize. From the bill’s structure and findings, the measure is clearly intended as a pro-investment, pro-community-access transportation bill, with a strong emphasis on reconnecting neighborhoods, improving safety, and supporting underserved communities. The overall tone of the legislation is affirmative and policy-driven, though it likely would draw support from advocates of transit, equity, and anti-displacement planning more than from proponents of highway expansion.
The main likely points of contention are the bill’s restriction against using REPAIR funds to add travel lanes, its emphasis on community participation and anti-displacement measures, and its inclusion of land-use and housing-related considerations in transportation grant selection. Supporters would likely view these provisions as necessary to ensure projects repair past harms and improve access, while critics may argue they go beyond traditional transportation policy, constrain roadway capacity expansion, or impose additional planning burdens on applicants and states.