U.S. DOT awards nearly $2 billion in BUILD grants for roads, bridges, ports, rail, and transit

Earlier this week, the United States Department of Transportation said it has made nearly $2 billion in infrastructure investments across the country, as well as territories and the District of Columbia.The investment—totaling $1.73 billion—is going towards 127 projects, on various fronts, including critical roadway, transit, rail, maritime, and aviation infrastructure improvements for American families and businesses, according to DOT.“America is fortunate to have a Builder in the White House who knows America is only as great as our infrastructure,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy. “That’s why this Department is investing in repairing critical roads and bridges that connect Americans to job opportunities, port infrastructure that bolsters our national security, and aviation and transit projects that move American families. The impact of these dollars will be felt in communities nationwide for years to come.”Key areas of investment for these projects, cited by DOT, are:Roads and bridges, which received $1.3 billion, roughly 77% of the total funding, to upgrade critical arteries for commuters and America’s hardworking truckers who keep our economy moving;Port infrastructure, which received $136.8 million to expand capacity, reduce bottlenecks and help restore America’s maritime dominance;Transit projects, which received $169.9 million to enhance safety and improve reliability of public transit for American families;Truck parking, which received $62 million to address the truck parking shortage across states;Aviation infrastructure, which received more than $11 million to improve airport roadways; andFreight and passenger rail initiatives, which received $87.7 million to modernize America’s railroads and move passengers and goods more efficientlyFunding for these projects comes from the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant program, which DOT said provides grants for surface transportation infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impact.“The eligibility requirements of BUILD allow project sponsors, including state and local governments, counties, Tribal governments, transit agencies, and port authorities, to pursue multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional projects that are more difficult to fund through other grant programs,” said DOT. “The BUILD program, previously known as the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grants, was established under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and operated under annual appropriations acts until authorized in November 2021.”Transportation infrastructure-related activity has been active inside the beltway recently.In May, DOT rolled out its 2026 National Freight Strategic Plan, a multi-year roadmap for improving the freight that moves more than 54 million tons of goods worth more than $68 billion each day.The plan focuses on the country’s nearly 7-million-mile freight network and lays out six goals for the next five years: safety, efficiency, security, resiliency, innovation, and workforce development. DOT says the plan is meant to guide federal freight policy, investment, and partnerships with state and private-sector groups.The plan calls for reducing freight bottlenecks, improving supply chain visibility, streamlining federal project reviews, and helping states and regions plan more effectively across the transportation network.It serves as a follow-up to the DOT’s 2020 National Freight Strategic Plan (NFSP), which was released during the first Trump administration. Which DOT, at the time, said was a first of its kind and focused on bolstering the nation’s economic competitiveness through long-term investments in infrastructure, the workforce, and other key parts of the national freight system.Industry stakeholders were largely supportive of the 2020 plan, calling it a serious effort to understand and put a framework in place to better understand freight and put emphasis on programs and data that will allow DOT and the U.S. to make better investment decisions—adding that continuing to highlight the importance of freight will only help to make the U.S. freight system more effective and help U.S. consumers, manufacturers, farmers, etc. compete internationally and continue to have low logistics costs, fast transit times, and many options.Another transportation infrastructure-related initiative released in May came from the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure with new legislation for a bipartisan five-year surface transportation authorization, investing in the nation’s roads, bridges, transit, rail transportation, and highway and motor carrier safety programs.Entitled “BUILD America 250 Act—Building Unrivaled Infrastructure and Long-term Development for America’s 250th Act—the House T&I Committee said that this legislation, “emphasizes moving people, goods, and freight safely and efficiently across the country,” adding that it, “provides the largest ever investment in America’s bridges, focuses on proven surface transportation infrastructure programs, provides passenger rail investments and reforms, improves rail safety, ensures that transportation projects and programs are more efficient, encourages innovation, and provides the first ever autonomous commercial motor vehicle framework.”The Washington, D.C.-based Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC) issued a statement on the BUILD America 250 Act.“The Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors thanks Chairman Sam Graves, Ranking Member Rick Larsen, and members of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee for their bipartisan efforts to develop a five-year surface transportation authorization proposal,” said CAGTC Executive Director Elaine Nessle. “While the bill makes important progress in several areas—including identifying the first new revenue contribution to the Highway Trust Fund in 30 years—it fails in its commitment to freight infrastructure investment. For decades, the nation’s freight assets were overlooked in federal surface transportation programs.The progress achieved through the last two infrastructure laws to prioritize investment in supply chain infrastructure would be significantly weakened under this proposal. Dedicated federal freight investment is essential. Programs such as the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects Program (INFRA), National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program (Mega), Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI) Program, and Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) strengthen the infrastructure that connects communities to commerce, supports economic growth, and enhances America’s global competitiveness. Further, INFRA must continue to receive dependable and long-term funding from the Highway Trust Fund as it has since its creation over a decade ago. We urge Congress to build on the momentum of recent years and continue making these critical investments in the next surface transportation reauthorization law.”