Senate Commerce Committee’s Bipartisan $78B Surface Transportation Bill Advances
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive EditorThe Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation has passed its five-year surface transportation bill authorizing $78 billion for rail, freight, safety and research programs; it is a bipartisan measure supported by the Association of American Railroads (AAR) and the American Short Line and Regional Railroad Association (ASLRRA).
![“Thanks to Secretary Pete [Buttigieg], USDOT, the Federal Railroad Administration and all our partners for making the S-Line passenger rail a reality!!” NCDOT Secretary Joey Hopkins said in a July 1 LinkedIn post. “Thanks to the hard work of our NCDOT team we broke ground on the first construction project in the Raleigh to Wake Forest segment, a $19M project to grade separate Durant Road 7 months after the grant announcement!!” (Photograph Courtesy of Joey Hopkins)](https://www.railwayage.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/slinelead-315x168.png)