Skip to Content
Streetsblog USA home
Streetsblog USA home
Log In

In a recent interview with the Journal of Commerce, Transportation Chair John Mica (R-FL) indicated that he shares many transportation goals with the Obama administration.

Mica speaks at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Auto Train terminal in Sanford. Photo courtesy of ##http://mica.house.gov/Photos/#id=136716&num=12##John Mica's office##.
Mica speaks at the ribbon cutting ceremony for the Auto Train terminal in Sanford. Photo courtesy of ##http://mica.house.gov/Photos/#id=136716&num=12##John Mica's office##.

We mentioned the Journal’s report the other day that Mica has tried to reassure transportation supporters that new House rules won’t starve the highway trust fund.

Now the Journal is reporting that Mica is eager to shift more freight transportation to rail in order to “ease pressure on federal road and bridge spending out of the Highway Trust Fund, by reducing the pace of wear and tear.”

"My goal would be to get more trucks off of the highway, and more cars off of the highway," Mica said.

Mica also refered to the vastly undersubscribed Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing loan program, which hasn’t shared the popularity of other federal funding programs like TIGER and TIFIA. He told the Journal would not try to use RRIF money for road projects, "but I can free that up for rail infrastructure … (and) enhancement of rail takes pressure off of my highways, if it's properly applied, too."

The Journal continued:

He also wants to take private the Amtrak Auto Train service that runs from central Florida nearly to Washington, D.C., in which drivers load their automobiles on the train and ride inside train cars for the 855-mile trip. Mica said that could be sharply expanded and perhaps broadened to include commercial trucks, as in Europe.

Such efforts, he said, save energy and "save the infrastructure, because four out of every five dollars for transportation now goes just for maintaining infrastructure. So I look at ways to take that asset, not only stop sitting on the (highway) asset, but stop wrecking the asset."

The Journal is also reporting that Mica is planning to start a series of field hearings on the transportation reauthorization in the middle of next month. “The first thing I plan to do,” he told the Journal, “is a series of hearings around the country, and listening sessions, and we're going to start that probably about the 18th of February."

The current extension of the transportation bill expires March 4. It’s the sixth extension since SAFETEA-LU expired October 1, 2009.

Stay in touch

Sign up for our free newsletter

More from Streetsblog USA

Thursday’s Headlines Are Hotter Than July

The Trump administration looked at decades of science and decided that climate change is fine, actually.

July 31, 2025

Wednesday’s Headlines Welcome Our Robot Overlords

The robotaxi field is growing, but with buyouts and now possibly layoffs at the U.S. DOT, will anyone be left to regulate them?

July 30, 2025

Shifting Gears to Urban Bike Delivery

Bikes can revolutionize delivery in urban areas. A new report outlines how policymakers can spur them in their communities.

July 30, 2025

Trump’s ‘Beautiful’ Bill Kills Lovely QueensWay Park (Plus Many Efforts to Erase ‘Racist’ Highways)

Here's another reason for Mayor Adams to have buyer's remorse over his bromance with President Trump.

July 29, 2025

Tuesday’s Headlines Reel in the Years

Republicans continue to roll back the Biden administration's legacy, most recently ending the DOT's Neighborhood Access and Equity program.

July 29, 2025

What Will It Take To Give Victims and Advocates a Voice at US DOT?

A new bill would put a dedicated "roadway safety advocate" in the halls of US DOT — and you can support it right now.

July 29, 2025
See all posts