As Congress debates the transportation bill, Oklahoma's future may depend on more than roads.
When MidAmerica Industrial Park Chief Administrative Officer David Stewart talks to prospective employers, transportation is often one of the first topics that comes up.
"If you have bad access, you're completely out," Stewart said.
Companies considering a move to Oklahoma want to know whether raw materials can arrive reliably, whether finished products can reach customers efficiently and whether workers can access jobs without difficulty.
In other words, they want to know whether the transportation system works.
For Stewart, that increasingly means more than highways.
It means rail service. It means access to inland ports. It means bridges, freight corridors, truck routes and the broader supply-chain network that connects Oklahoma manufacturers to national and international markets.
As Congress begins debating the BUILD America 250 Act, a sweeping five-year transportation reauthorization proposal that would take effect in October 2026, transportation leaders across Oklahoma are watching closely.
The bill would authorize funding for highways, bridges, freight corridors, transit systems, rail programs and safety initiatives through 2031. The previous transportation legislation, the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, was passed in 2021 and will expire at the end of September.
House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Chairman Sam Graves, R-Mo., called the BUILD America 250 Act, which would replace the prior law, the most important surface transportation bill since President Eisenhower built the Interstate Highway System.
The proposal arrives at a pivotal moment for Oklahoma.
State leaders have spent years positioning Oklahoma as a logistics and freight hub. Industrial recruitment efforts increasingly emphasize the state's location at the intersection of major transportation corridors. At the same time, transportation agencies face rising construction costs, aging infrastructure and uncertainty surrounding the long-term solvency of the Highway Trust Fund, the primary federal source of transportation funding.
The result is a transportation debate that extends far beyond roads alone.
"It's all connected," said Susan Howard, director of policy and government relations for the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials. "You cannot do any of this with just one mode."
Howard said state transportation agencies are focused on three priorities as Congress considers the legislation: stability, flexibility and predictability.
"The number one concern is always having a long-term bill done on time," Howard said.
State transportation agencies often plan projects years before construction begins, making certainty about federal funding critical for long-term decision making.
Howard said states are also seeking flexibility to address different regional needs.
"The needs of some of the states that you work with are going to be different than states here in the Northeast or in the West," she said. "We really need as much flexibility as possible."
At the same time, she said, transportation agencies are increasingly balancing the desire for expansion with the practical reality of maintaining aging infrastructure.
"Our primary role is maintaining the system we have and making sure that it is safe and efficient and reliable," Howard said.
That focus on reliability has become increasingly important as inflation and rising construction costs have reduced how much infrastructure agencies can build with available funding.
"What I hear from our members is more than anything, it helps keep their head above water because of the cost of inflation and how much project costs have gone up," Howard said of recent federal transportation funding.
Freight becomes the focus
One of the clearest themes emerging from the BUILD America 250 Act is a growing emphasis on freight movement.
The legislation expands freight programs, places additional emphasis on high-priority freight corridors, creates new freight planning initiatives and includes provisions intended to improve movement of agricultural products and other commodities.
Those priorities closely mirror conversations already taking place in Oklahoma.
Transportation officials, economic developers and logistics providers increasingly describe highways, railroads, ports and warehouses as components of a single system rather than separate industries.
That perspective is evident at Tulsa Ports, where barge traffic, trucking and rail operations intersect.
Executive Director David Yarbrough said inland waterways often receive less public attention than highways but play a critical role in the freight network.
"Barge transportation doesn't replace trucking or rail," Yarbrough said. "It complements them."
The McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System links Oklahoma to the Mississippi River and global export markets. Agricultural commodities, industrial materials and manufactured goods move through the system.
Yarbrough said transportation planning increasingly focuses on how those systems work together.
A disruption affecting one mode often affects the entire network.
That observation was echoed by Sunderesh Heragu, Oklahoma State University professor of industrial engineering and management.
"Our biggest constraint is our ability to adapt to changes in the logistics environment caused by tariffs, wars, realignment of supply chains, weather-related events … and frequent changes in US government policies," Heragu said.
Oklahoma's freight ambitions
Those concerns are particularly relevant in Oklahoma, where economic development efforts increasingly emphasize logistics and distribution.
MidAmerica Industrial Park in Pryor has become one of the state's most important industrial recruitment assets. Home to manufacturers, data centers and energy-related industries, the park depends heavily on transportation access.
Stewart said prospective employers routinely ask about freight movement, highway access and supply-chain reliability.
Projects such as the future Interstate 42 corridor have attracted attention because they could strengthen east-west freight connectivity across the region.
The proposed interstate designation would follow portions of U.S. Highway 412, connecting Oklahoma with Arkansas and other regional markets.
Supporters argue the corridor could improve freight mobility, strengthen economic development opportunities and improve connections among industrial centers, ports and distribution hubs.
Stewart views transportation investment as a long-term economic development strategy.
"It's difficult to recruit industry if access is limited," he said.
Preserving what already exists
While economic developers often focus on growth, transportation agencies face a more immediate challenge: preserving existing infrastructure.
The Oklahoma Department of Transportation's planning documents emphasize maintenance and asset preservation as core priorities.
Emily Long, ODOT's public information manager, said the department's Eight-Year Construction Work Plan and Asset Preservation Plan continue to guide transportation priorities across the state. Together, the plans outline projects involving highways, bridges, rail, ports and transit systems.
Long said ODOT is encouraged that Congress has begun work on a new transportation bill but is not yet prepared to assess how specific provisions could affect Oklahoma because the legislation remains in the early stages of the process.
"We always have the eight-year plan," Long said.
Like transportation agencies across the country, ODOT faces rising construction costs and an aging transportation system that requires continuous investment.
ODOT actually has two plans. One, the Construction Work Plan, outlines new work to be done over the next eight years. The other, called the Asset Preservation Plan, describes work needed to extend the life of existing infrastructure.
"Across the country, DOTs have experienced nearly 18 years of cost inflation over just the last three years," ODOT Executive Director Tim Gatz wrote in the foreword to the plan. "That reality forces us to stretch limited dollars even further, making asset preservation an even more critical strategy to protect the progress Oklahomans have invested in."
Oklahoma's transportation priorities are evident in the projects already moving through ODOT's pipeline. The agency's current Eight-Year Construction Work Plan includes major investments in Interstate 35 widening, the Chickasha Bypass and the accelerated replacement of the Roosevelt Bridge over Lake Texoma. In eastern Oklahoma, plans also include replacement of the Navigation Bridge between Gore and Webbers Falls and major work on an Interstate 40 bridge crossing the Arkansas River in Muskogee County. Together, the projects reflect a mix of freight mobility, economic development and long-term system preservation.
Dr. Norb Delatte, a civil engineering professor at Oklahoma State University, said transportation facilities are long-lived assets.
Many bridges and roadways remain in service for 50 to 100 years.
Yet funding and political decisions often occur on much shorter timelines.
"Transportation funding is usually popular because it creates jobs," Delatte said. "Unfortunately, it also suffers from a lack of long-term planning."
Delatte argues infrastructure planning should be aligned with infrastructure lifespans.
The challenge becomes more complicated when inflation and construction costs rise faster than transportation revenues.
"The gas tax is a fixed amount per gallon," he said. "It has not been adjusted for many years."
Meanwhile, vehicles continue becoming more fuel-efficient.
The Highway Trust Fund problem
That funding challenge sits at the center of the federal transportation debate.
For decades, the Highway Trust Fund has served as the primary funding source for federal highway programs.
The BUILD America 250 Act attempts to address some of those concerns.
The legislation includes provisions intended to generate new transportation revenue, such as fees on electric vehicles and other highway users.
Howard said AASHTO has identified more than 100 transportation funding mechanisms currently in use across the country. In addition to traditional fuel taxes and registration fees, some states have adopted sales taxes, rental car fees, freight-related charges and other dedicated transportation revenues.
"States are really looking at everything," Howard said.
The diversification reflects a broader concern among transportation agencies that traditional fuel-tax revenues may no longer be sufficient to meet future infrastructure needs.
More than highways
Although surface transportation bills traditionally focus on roads and bridges, the current proposal extends well beyond highways.
The legislation includes substantial funding for bridge programs, transit systems, passenger rail, freight initiatives and safety programs.
The bridge provisions alone would represent more than $50 billion in investment over five years.
The proposal also includes dedicated funding for truck parking, an issue frequently raised by trucking companies.
Matt Herndon, president and CEO of United Petroleum Transports, identified truck parking as one of the industry's most persistent challenges.
As freight volumes increase, drivers often struggle to find safe and legal places to park.
The BUILD America 250 Act would authorize $150 million annually for truck parking initiatives.
Herndon also pointed to broader questions regarding future transportation funding and the need to ensure all highway users contribute to infrastructure costs.
Oklahoma generally compares favorably with many states from a trucking perspective, Herndon said, particularly because severe congestion is less common than in larger metropolitan areas.
Still, he said, carriers continue to watch projects such as the future I-42 corridor and major interchange improvements around Oklahoma City. He also expressed support for efforts to accelerate project delivery, arguing that transportation improvements often spend years moving through planning and permitting processes before construction begins.
Transit remains part of the equation
While much of the transportation debate centers on freight movement and infrastructure, transit advocates argue that moving people remains equally important to economic growth.
Kristen Joyner, executive director of the Oklahoma Transit Association, said public transportation often receives less attention than highways despite playing a critical role in connecting workers to jobs, patients to healthcare and residents to essential services.
In many rural communities, she said, public transit is not a convenience but a necessity.
For older adults, people with disabilities and residents without reliable access to a vehicle, transit systems can determine whether someone can reach a medical appointment, grocery store or workplace.
"Transportation is about access," Joyner said.
She noted that economic development projects frequently focus on freight access, industrial recruitment and highway capacity, but employers also need workers who can reliably reach job sites.
That issue becomes increasingly important as communities confront workforce shortages and an aging population.
Joyner said transportation planning works best when highways, freight systems and transit networks are viewed as parts of a larger system rather than competing priorities.
"They all work together," she said.
The BUILD America 250 Act includes funding for urban and rural transit programs, bus facilities and state-of-good-repair grants, continuing federal support for transit systems alongside highway and freight investments.
For transit providers, Joyner said predictable federal funding remains important because many systems operate with limited local resources and long equipment replacement cycles.
Like highway agencies, transit operators often plan years in advance.
"We need certainty," she said.
Delatte said transportation decisions often outlast the political and budget cycles that produce them.
As Congress debates the next transportation bill, Oklahoma transportation leaders said the challenge is not simply building new infrastructure, but maintaining and connecting the systems already in place. The state's future competitiveness, they argued, will depend on how effectively highways, railroads, ports, transit systems and freight corridors work together.
Oklahoma Watch, at oklahomawatch.org, is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.
