City and USDoT sign historic agreement

An emerging projects agreement – cleverly called an EmPA – between the city of Austin and the U.S. Department of Transportation is the beginning of a “landmark local-federal partnership to identify as much as billions in funding opportunities to support the transportation and infrastructure projects slated in the Central Texas area over the next decade,” according to the news release. The EmPA was finalized at a signing ceremony Tuesday at City Hall, where Mayor Kirk Watson called it “a great opportunity for Austin to try new ideas for accelerating mobility projects in a manner that also respects our community values. I appreciate Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, the Build America Bureau, and our congressional delegation for their continued support and guidance. I hope this partnership will help us deliver critical infrastructure projects more efficiently for our taxpayers.” This is the first time USDoT has signed such an agreement with a municipality, and it’s the “result of a series of discussions between USDoT and Austin mobility leaders held in 2022.”