USA Law and Practice Contributed by: John D. O’Neill, Jr., David B. Horner, Andrej Micovic and Ryan Pedraza, Hunton Andrews Kurth LLP
cession term of approximately 56 years. As of June 2026, two other major managed lanes projects are in procurement: the I-285 Express Lanes project in Geor - gia and the I-24 Choice Lanes project in Tennessee. Rail investment has focused on network capacity enhancements, intermodal facilities, port-related infra - structure and modernisation of existing freight corri - dors. Although rail privatisation transactions remain rare, private-sector participation continues through construction contracts, operating agreements, rolling stock procurement and project financing arrange - ments. The Denver Eagle commuter rail project and the Maryland Purple Line remain the most frequently cited examples of large-scale rail P3 delivery models in the United States, although neither follows the tra - ditional toll-road concession model commonly seen in highway projects. Brightline continues to privately develop high-speed rail networks. Following the com - mencement of service on its Miami to Orlando line, its Los Angeles to Las Vegas line is under development. The latter project received an approximately USD3 billion grant from the Federal Railroad Administration Several long-term trends continue to influence the relationship between road and rail freight transporta - tion in the United States. Decarbonisation initiatives, supply chain resilience concerns and growing conges - tion around major metropolitan areas and ports have encouraged increased interest in rail and intermodal transportation. As a general matter, rail offers lower greenhouse gas emissions per ton-mile than trucking and is increasingly viewed as an important component of corporate sustainability strategies. (FRA) under an IIJA funding programme. 1.3 Modal Shift and Supply Chain Developments At the same time, trucking remains the dominant freight mode due to its flexibility, speed and ability to provide first-mile and last-mile delivery services. As a result, most observable modal shifts have occurred through increased use of intermodal transportation rather than direct substitution of rail for trucking. Many shippers are seeking to combine rail for long- haul movements with trucking for local distribution in order to balance cost, reliability and environmental objectives.
Supply chain reconfiguration has also influenced transportation patterns. Nearshoring initiatives, par - ticularly in Mexico, have increased freight movements through southern border crossings and strengthened the importance of north-south freight corridors. Simi - larly, continued population growth in the Southeast and Southwest has increased demand for transporta - tion infrastructure serving logistics hubs, distribution centres and manufacturing facilities.
2. Regulatory Framework 2.1 Governing Legislation
The United States does not have a single comprehen - sive statute governing freight road and rail transpor - tation. Instead, the regulatory framework is divided among federal, state and local laws. Federal law pri - marily governs interstate transportation, safety, envi - ronmental review, competition, rail economics and the use of federal transportation funding, while state law governs many aspects of infrastructure owner - ship, procurement, concessions, tolling and project delivery. For road transportation, key federal statutes include Title 23 of the United States Code governing federal- aid highways, the IIJA, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), and various federal motor carrier safety statutes administered by the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA). Tolling author - ity for federally assisted highways is also governed by federal law, although toll road development and con - cession arrangements are primarily authorised under state legislation. For rail transportation, the principal federal statutes include the Interstate Commerce Act, as amended, the Federal Railroad Safety Act, the Rail Transporta - tion Improvement Act, and various provisions admin - istered by the FRA and the Surface Transportation Board (STB). Rail projects receiving federal funding may also be subject to requirements administered by the Federal Transit Administration (FTA). Because transportation infrastructure is largely owned and managed at the state and local levels, state-spe -
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