Infrastructure Bill

Much of the transportation community — freight and business executives, the construction sector, local leaders and experts — said President Donald Trump’s call for a $1.5 trillion infrastructure bill that also would streamline project permitting to two years during his State of the Union address left them with more questions than answers, particularly on the matter of funding.

WASHINGTON — Port authorities, trucking companies and shippers are hopeful that the infrastructure bill to be debated in Congress will fund solutions to alleviate congestion in the ocean container freight industry, panelists said Jan. 9 at the Transportation Research Board’s annual meeting here.

After issuing an executive order to streamline the permitting process for construction projects, President Trump expressed confidence that his yet-to-be unveiled long-term infrastructure funding plan would gain bipartisan backing on Capitol Hill.