Amanda Mays
Policy Director, Transportation, Infrastructure, and Supply Chain Policy
Published
November 19, 2025
America is investing historic levels in roads, bridges, rail and transit. To translate those dollars into on-time projects and stronger local economies, we need a permitting process that is predictable, efficient, transparent, and collaborative. The good news is many of the ingredients are already in place. Surface transportation reauthorization is a chance to lock in proven practices that work. Modernizing the permitting process will enable American businesses and workers to build faster and build better – delivering projects across the country that boost our economic competitiveness.
The Challenge – and what’s already working
On average, transportation infrastructure projects in the United States take seven years to complete – far too long for a nation competing globally. Duplicative reviews, procedural red tape, and litigation often slow delivery and drive up costs. Yet when faced with emergencies like the rapid reconstruction of I-95 in Philadelphia or I-10 in Los Angeles, America has proven it can act quickly when coordination is clear and decisions are unified.
We should make that efficiency routine. Across federal, state, and local levels, proven practices already show that clear timelines, early coordination, and smarter, standardized reviews deliver faster results without weakening environmental standards. Modernizing permitting is about scaling those approaches. Setting predictable schedules and aligning decisions will allow infrastructure projects to break ground sooner—creating jobs and delivering lasting benefits to communities nationwide.
The Cost of Inaction
Infrastructure investment is a cornerstone of economic growth. U.S. transportation projects support roughly 4.4 million jobs nationwide and enable the movement of approximately $18.7 trillion dollars in freight each year. But outdated permitting processes inject delay and risk into project pipelines. Prolonged reviews and litigation raise the cost of capital and can complicate project financing. Every month of delay drives up materials, labor, and financing costs and worsens congestion and detours. At the same time, these deterred projects postpone safety and resiliency upgrades that businesses rely on to move goods and workers. But streamlined, predictable permitting can reduce that uncertainty, lower costs, and help projects deliver sooner. Companies can plan confidently and communities will see benefits faster.
The Chamber’s Permit America to Build initiative calls on Congress to enact meaningful, durable legislation to modernize our nation’s permitting processes. By coupling permitting reform with the next surface transportation reauthorization bill, lawmakers can accelerate project delivery and drive economic growth.
A modernized permitting process requires:
- Predictability: Establish clear scope and timelines for project reviews
- Efficiency: Improve interagency coordination through technology integration
- Transparency: Create accessible public tracking of permitting milestones
- Stakeholder Input: Ensure meaningful engagement within reasonable timeframes
With bipartisan support growing for both surface transportation reauthorization and permitting, now is the time to act. Modernizing the permitting process will speed up construction, reduce costs, and maximize the impact of public investments. It’s time to let our communities build smarter, faster, and more sustainably – for today and for the future.
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