Build America Buy America Requirements in Utility Relocations: A Guide for Transportation Agencies

The Buy America (BA) law was enacted in 1981 and modified in the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21). In 2022, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) added the Build America Buy America Act (BABA), which expanded the list of materials required to be domestically sourced on federally funded projects. These legislative changes added requirements that impacted utility relocations on projects administered through the Federal Highway Administration. Utility companies, often operating without federal funding in their regular business practices, are not consistently familiar with the terms of BA/BABA, and procurement contracts may not expressly require BA/BABA compliance. In some cases, their interactions with state departments of transportation (DOTs) requiring BA/BABA compliance result in refusals to participate, contract, or relocate, impacting project costs and schedules. Differences in interpretation of federal BA/BABA requirements along with differences in regional laws, policies, and procedures reflect the need for additional guidance on ensuring BA/BABA compliance when working with utility companies.  The objective of this research is to develop a guide for transportation agencies to implement practices for consistently ensuring compliance with BA/BABA requirements in utility relocations. 

• Record URL:
  • http://apps.trb.org/cmsfeed/TRBNetProjectDisplay.asp?ProjectID=5701
• Supplemental Notes:
  • Contract to a Performing Organization has not yet been awarded.

Language

• English

Project

• Status: Proposed
• Funding: $250,000
• Contract Numbers:

  Project 23-43

• Sponsor Organizations:

  National Cooperative Highway Research Program

  Transportation Research Board
  500 Fifth Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001

  Federal Highway Administration

  1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
  Washington, DC  United States  20590

  American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO)

  444 North Capitol Street, NW
  Washington, DC  United States  20001
• Project Managers:

  Jared, David

• Start Date: 20241223
• Expected Completion Date: 0
• Actual Completion Date: 0

Subject/Index Terms

• TRT Terms: Building materials; Compliance; Implementation; Legislation; Public utilities; Relocation (Facilities); Transportation departments
• Identifier Terms: Buy America
• Subject Areas: Administration and Management; Construction; Economics; Highways; Law; Materials; Policy; Terminals and Facilities;

Filing Info

• Accession Number: 01919237
• Record Type: Research project
• Source Agency: Transportation Research Board
• Contract Numbers: Project 23-43
• Files: TRB, RIP
• Created Date: May 21 2024 4:07PM