Recent legislation has stressed the importance of financial management and identifying new sources of transportation funding. The TE-045 program was prepared in response to President Clinton's Executive Order 12983, Principles for Federal Infrastructure Investment, that established infrastructure investment as a priority for each executive department and agency. But legislative changes are not the only reason that innovative finance for transportation is important. The simple fact is that traditional funding sources cannot provide sufficient funds to meet current transportation infrastructure needs. As a result, new funding partnership approaches and financing mechanisms are needed to ensure that scarce transportation dollars are used more effectively.
Innovative financing can help close the current investment gap.
The FHWA has created the Innovative Finance newsletter to increase awareness and understanding of innovative finance opportunities through articles that describe the results of U.S. DOT-sponsored research, case studies, announcements of upcoming conferences, meetings, and training programs, and resources, such as reports, guidance, and contacts. The newsletter will serve as a resource for its readers in developing innovative strategies in their own transportation systems. It will also provide a forum for notifying state DOTs and MPOs of best practices nationwide. Innovative financing requires creativity and cross-fertilization of ideas. To facilitate this process and create a record of achievement and a base of knowledge about innovative finance, the Editors welcome your feedback on the newsletter and encourage suggestions for future issues.