Highway Funding Priority Goes Digital: New Bill Pushes 3D Models to Speed Up Environmental Reviews

The Interactive Federal Review Act is taking the environmental review process for major highway projects into the digital age. This bill mandates that the Secretary of Transportation encourage recipients of big federal infrastructure grants—like INFRA and RAISE—to use interactive, cloud-based platforms and high-fidelity, 3D models (often called “digital twins”) when conducting their environmental analysis under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). The core purpose here is efficiency: making the complex NEPA process faster and more transparent for both agencies and the public.

The Digital Twin Advantage: Speed and Transparency

Think of a digital twin as a hyper-realistic, interactive 3D model of a proposed highway project. Instead of flipping through hundreds of pages of technical reports and static maps, the public and reviewers could potentially navigate a virtual version of the project to see exactly how it impacts wetlands, sound levels, or traffic flow. The bill requires the Secretary of Transportation to issue clear, technology-neutral guidance within 90 days to establish best practices for using these tools, ensuring everyone is working from the same playbook. The hope is that this visualization will cut down on confusion, speed up approvals, and improve community outreach, making it easier for a busy commuter or a local business owner to understand the project’s real-world footprint.

Where the Rubber Meets the Road: The Funding Catch

Here’s the provision that changes the game for project sponsors: The bill states that when the Department of Transportation is handing out money for major projects (specifically those INFRA, National Infrastructure Project Assistance, or RAISE grants), they must give priority to applications that already include a solid plan to use these digital platforms and 3D models for their environmental review and community engagement. This is a significant shift. It means that simply having a great project might not be enough; you also need to demonstrate technological readiness. For a large state DOT, this might be a minor hurdle, but for smaller or rural agencies, adopting expensive new 3D modeling and cloud infrastructure could be a major lift, potentially putting them at a disadvantage in securing critical federal funding, even if their proposed project is otherwise excellent.

Test Drive and Accountability

To ensure this isn't just a tech fad, the Secretary is required to select at least 10 "covered projects" to actively test the use of these digital tools. This real-world testing is crucial. Within 180 days of the bill becoming law, the Secretary must report back to Congress with specific metrics showing how effective these tools were at speeding up the environmental analysis and improving engagement. This includes posting at least five examples of completed environmental documents that were created using these new digital workflows within one year. This focus on measurable outcomes suggests the government is serious about modernizing the process, provided the technology actually delivers on its promise of efficiency.

Keeping State Authority Intact

One important clarification in the bill is that it doesn't mess with existing state authority. Many states have taken on the responsibility for conducting NEPA reviews themselves under a program known as Section 327. The bill explicitly states that nothing in this new digital push changes or reduces the authority or responsibilities those states have already assumed. This is a necessary detail to ensure that the push for new technology doesn't accidentally disrupt established agreements and workflows between the federal government and state transportation agencies.