Federal Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act
Congress created Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs) such as the NJTPA, to give local elected officials a stronger role in guiding federal transportation investment and to ensure that these decisions are based on a continuing, cooperative and comprehensive (“3C”) planning process.
Congress first required the creation of MPOs in urbanized areas in the Federal-Aid Highway Act of 1962, but granted them little power. In 1991, the federal Intermodal Surface Transportation Efficiency Act (ISTEA) greatly enhanced the authority of MPOs. ISTEA required MPO approval for allocating federal funding for many types of highway and transit projects (see MPO History publication).
Congress has continued to support planning by the 400 MPOs across the country in subsequent transportation reauthorization laws. The latest reauthorization is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) signed into law on November 15, 2021. It succeeds Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, originally enacted in 2015. A separate webpage provides information and updates about funding opportunties available throught the Act. The law expires on September 30, 2026 and must be reauthorized by Congress by that date.