As Congress considers renewing the nation's major transportation spending legislation, the importance of intermodal connections has once again moved to the forefront of the debate. Whether funding for these vital transportation connectors will match the rhetorical support, though, is uncertain.

Several hearings have already been held on the reauthorization of the Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century, or TEA-21, which expires next year. One recent hearing held by the House Highways and Transit Subcommittee focused on intermodal connectors, the links between transportation modes.

"No matter how functional the individual parts of our transportation system may be," said subcommittee Chairman Tom Petri (R-Wis.), "the effectiveness of the overall system depends on the interconnectivity between the various modes."

Emil Frankel, assistant secretary for transportation policy in the U.S. Department of Transportation, told the subcommittee, "As bottlenecks grow and systemwide congestion worsens, the department increasingly will be asked to facilitate projects that enhance intermodal efficiencies for both passenger and freight movement."

Douglas Whitley of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged more collaboration between the private and public sectors. He pointed to the recently opened Alameda Corridor in Southern California as an example of a successful intermodal solution for reducing congestion.

Edward R. Hamberger, president of the Association of American Railroads, suggested several changes in current policy, which he said would encourage more public-private financing partnerships. These included increased funding for several rail and congestion-related programs, greater emphasis on freight issues by state and local transportation planning boards, and allowing tax-exempt bonds and other tax incentives for rail and intermodal infrastructure improvements.

Other recommendations for improving intermodal transportation offered at the hearing included creating programs dedicated to funding intermodal projects, allowing intermodal projects to become eligible for more existing programs, and conducting more research on intermodal transportation.