View from the Administration | John Porcari

Is the 'fix it first' approach the correct transportation policy for America? Or should there be greater investment made to expand highway capacity? What role should 'Livability' play in transportation planning? And why should America invest billions of dollars in high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects?

These are just a few of the issues Deputy Secretary of Transportation John D. Porcari addresses in an exclusive interview this week on Transportation TV.Porcari says the administration sees the Tiger Grant process in particular and Recovery Act in general as a "dress rehearsal" for reauthorization of surface transportation. "We want to finish the job of getting the Recovery projects out the door, with our state partners," Porcari said.  "We have a fantastic partnership across the country. People feel the urgency of getting the economy restarted, getting people back to work. So we want to finish that up."

A former member of the Board of Directors of the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials, Porcari says one of his top priorities is passage of a new transportation bill.  "The kind of consistency and predictability that comes from a multiyear authorization," Porcari says, "is what we really owe our state partners; so they can think about their transportation needs and build those complicated, multiyear projects."