More than two years after the nation's transportation infrastructure was a key recipient of Recovery Act dollars, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce is taking a new look at infrastructure's role in bolstering economic growth.

The Chamber will release an update to its "Let's Rebuild America" annual Infrastructure Performance Index at a conference next week. The index measures the effectiveness of transportation, energy, broadband and water systems in the U.S.

U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Thad Allen, who was instrumental in the BP oil spill clean-up efforts, will keynote the July 19 conference. Other members of the federal community and the private sector will also attend.

Janet Kavinoky, the Chamber's executive director of transportation and infrastructure, gave Federal News Radio a preview of the updated index, including some of its key findings and how infrastructure improvements can be used to drive economic growth.