Posted on June 30, 2021
WASHINGTON – U.S Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Pete Buttigieg today announced that the Biden-Harris Administration intends to award $905.25 million to 24 projects in 18 states under the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant program. These grants advance the Administration’s priorities of rebuilding America’s infrastructure and creating jobs by funding highway and rail projects of regional and national economic significance that position America to win the 21st century.
“These timely investments in our infrastructure will create jobs and support regional economies, while helping to spur innovation, confront climate change, and address inequities across the country,” said Secretary Pete Buttigieg.
INFRA grants were selected based on several criteria. In addition to prioritizing projects that would improve local economies, create jobs, and meet all statutory requirements, for the first time in USDOT’s history, grants were considered by how they would address climate change, environmental justice, and racial equity.
Further, USDOT prioritized funding to rural areas to address historic underinvestment. Approximately 44 percent of proposed funding will be awarded to rural projects, which exceeds the statutory requirements for rural projects set by Congress by 19%.
INFRA projects were also rated on the extent that they applied innovative technology and whether they could deliver projects in a cost-effective manner.
Demand for INFRA grants far exceeded available funds. USDOT evaluated 157 eligible applications from 42 states, as well as Guam. Applicants collectively requested approximately $6.8 billion in grant funds—more than seven times the funding available.
The full list of proposed awards is below:
• The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority will be awarded $30.0 million in grant funding to construct a series of improvements aimed at improving traffic flow in the confluence area (1.3 miles) between the SR-57 and SR-60 freeways in Los Angeles County.
• The Yolo County Transportation District will be awarded $85.9 million in grant funding to improve traffic flow in the I-80 corridor on the west side of the Sacramento-Yolo metro area.
• The Georgia Ports Authority will be awarded $46,868,000 to build a new inland container port along the I-85/I-985 corridor in an unincorporated area of Gainesville, which will be linked with the Port of Savannah by direct, 324-mile intermodal freight rail service.
• The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) will be awarded $70 million in INFRA funding to complete the Clear Path I-465 project.
• The Maine Department of Transportation will be awarded $45,240,000 to replace fourteen aging bridge decks, all of which are on the National Highway System (NHS) and many of which are on the National Highway Freight Network.
• The Minnesota Department of Transportation will be awarded $60 million for a series of improvements to approximately three miles on I-494 between the US 169 and the Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport.
• The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey will be awarded $44 million to modernize an approximately 2.9-mile section of roadway at the north entrance of Port Newark and the Elizabeth-Port Authority Marine Terminal.
• The Village of Los Lunas will be awarded $25 million to design and construct a new interchange on I-25 at Morris Road, a river crossing, 4 signalized intersections, and approximately 4 miles of four-lane highway.
• The City of Henderson will be awarded $39,851,697 for the approximately 7.5 mile Reimagine Boulder Highway Project.
• The City of Columbus will be awarded $25 million for Phase 4 of the Columbus Crossroads project involving the reconstruction of interchanges and roadways on the innerbelt I-70 and I-71 freeways.
• The Oklahoma Department of Transportation will be awarded $50,254,916 for a lane addition and interchange improvement project on I-40 and the Douglas Boulevard Interchange.
• The Philadelphia Regional Port Authority will be awarded $49 million to construct a new approximately 1,056 linear foot multi-use berth that will be used to accommodate roll-on/roll-off (RO/RO) vessels.
• Palmetto Railways, a division of the South Carolina Department of Commerce, will be awarded $25.0 million to build approximately 22.7 miles of new track and related facilities to connect the Camp Hall Commerce Park to the CSX rail network.
• The South Dakota Department of Transportation will be awarded $61,573,383 to reconstruct approximately 28 miles of Interstate 90 (I-90) in McCook and Minnehaha Counties, between mileage reference markers 362 and 390.
• The Texas Department of Transportation will be awarded $50 million to improve approximately 7.4 miles of I-35 across Texas, Oklahoma, and Chickasaw Nation.
• The City of Wenatchee will be awarded $92,111,956 to construct a network of projects on the 11-mile Apple Capital Loop.
• The Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT) will be awarded $18 million towards a Safe Streets Infrastructure project that includes approximately 26 new traffic signals and leading pedestrian interval (LPI) signal enhancements at approximately 90 intersections.
• The City of Dubuque will be awarded $5 million to increase capacity and make improvements to the Gavilon marine port and rail facility at Dove Harbor terminal at the Port of Dubuque.
• The Illinois Department of Transportation will be awarded $15 million to grade separate Archer Avenue roadway and two existing Beltway Railway of Chicago (BRC) rail tracks.
• The Village of Plainfield, Illinois, will be awarded $5.0 million to construct the eastern extension of 143rd Street as part of the Illinois Route 126 Re-Route improvement program.
• The North Dakota Department of Transportation will be awarded $16,750,000 to construct passing lanes along approximately 165 miles of two-lane US-52 between Carrington, ND and six miles north of Kenmare, ND.
• The South Jersey Port Corporation will be awarded $9 million to: rehabilitate an approximately 150-linear-foot bulkhead and extend it to approximately 500 linear feet; dredge the new berth; acquire an adjacent approximate 6-acre former glass manufacturing facility; and perform site preparation, improvements, and refurbish a multi-modal rail connection.
• The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation will be awarded $21,012,220 towards a series of improvements on a segment of PA- 61, that is in poor condition and at risk of closure from slope deterioration and flooding.
• The Seattle Department of Transportation will be awarded $11,250,600 to make significant bridge repairs on the West Seattle High-Rise bridge that is currently closed due to structural deficiencies, as well as the Spokane Street Swing Bridge (“low bridge”) running adjacent to the High-Rise bridge.
As required under the FAST Act, Congress will have 60 days to review the Department’s proposed project awardees. After the 60-day review period, the Department is free to begin obligating funding.
More information can be found on the Department’s INFRA site located at: www.transportation.gov/INFRA
