The TIFIA program and parallel SIB program for smaller projects have brought value to surface transportation infrastructure investment and are strong platforms for further leveraging limited federal resources. These programs can facilitate the development of user-backed and other revenue-supported projects and can attract additional capital from non-federal sources, including in the form of direct private-sector investment (discussed later in this chapter). An expansion of the TIFI A program to include incentive grants for pre-construction feasibility assessments and for capital cost gap funding could facilitate greater use of the TIFI A approach for toll and other revenue-supported projects by addressing market gaps related to riskier project phases, as well as providing gap funding to projects capable of partial (but not 100 percent) user- backed revenue financing.
The SIB program is a strong but underutilized mechanism that could reach a far greater number of smaller revenue-supported projects. An infusion of additional resources, perhaps accompanied by the ability to provide targeted grant funding to projects along with stepped- up technical assistance, could take advantage of the SIB platform to reach a far greater number of smaller revenue-supported projects that are best addressed at the state level rather than through direct federal credit mechanisms geared for larger projects of national significance.