For decades, while serving in the Senate, President Joe Biden commuted more than 125 miles each day by train from his home in Wilmington, Delaware to his office in Washington. Until the Capitol attack scuttled plans due to security concerns, he was even planning to arrive at his inauguration by train. Perhaps it’s not surprising, then, that transportation policy experts are expecting major investments in our nation’s transportation infrastructure under the Biden administration. 

With a growing local economy and major projects already underway, the Spokane region could be poised to reap the benefits of a national reinvestment in infrastructure.

The Federal Transit Administration, for example, could receive more funding for capital or planning grants. Last year, Spokane Transit accepted fifty-three million dollars from the agency for the City Line bus rapid transit project, which is set to open in 2022. Additional capital grants could fund further improvements to other high-performance transit lines, such as those set for East Sprague or North Division. 

The Federal Highway Administration could receive new funding—and a new mandate. Advocates are urging the new Congress to prioritize safety in a new transportation package, and this would involve reorienting the agency to focus more on pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit users, in addition to drivers. Here in Spokane, that could result in extensions and gap closures along the Centennial Trail, improvements to bike lanes and paths, and better sidewalks and walking routes in your neighborhood. It could also mean more transit service in rural areas less likely to receive service now.

Other advocates are pushing for programs to repair the damage caused to primarily Black, Indigenous, and POC communities by urban highway construction. In Spokane, that could mean new investment in the East Central neighborhood, which was once home to more than sixty percent of the city’s Black population. The neighborhood was “redlined” through the 1950s and ultimately ripped in half when I-90 was constructed. The neighborhood—and its residents—never fully recovered, though it has seen some revitalization in recent years.

Some have even suggested “deconstruction” of unnecessary or overbuilt highway infrastructure, as a way to repair the urban fabric. The Hamilton exit on I-90—overbuilt in part because it was supposed to be the terminus for the north-south freeway—might, in theory, meet that description.

Finally, the nation’s rail system could see new investment. A major infrastructure and stimulus package could include funding for high-speed rail planning in Washington, including north-south and east-west routes. But even smaller-scale improvements—such as more frequent or timely service between Spokane and Seattle or exploration of other regional passenger rail routes—are within the realm of possibility.

Ultimately, the new administration brings the potential for renewed investment in our region’s important social and physical infrastructure. I’m certainly rooting for “Amtrak Joe” and local legislators to bring home important projects to further improve our growing region’s quality of life.