In the waning weeks of the Biden administration, federal agencies authorized nearly $9 billion in grants and loans for transportation and infrastructure projects.
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau loaned $1.89 billion to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey toward the reconstruction of New York City’s midtown bus terminal, which serves commuter and intercity buses. The loan will help replace the dilapidated 74-year-old bus terminal, which serves over a quarter-million passengers a day, with a modern, expanded facility.
Grant awards ranged across programs targeting rural mobility needs, bus rapid transit, airports, EV charging and pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure.
Grants by federal transportation agencies to date in January consisted of the following.
Department of Transportation:
- $1.32 billion for 109 infrastructure projects under the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity discretionary grant program. Awards included off-street bike lanes, ADA-compliant sidewalks and roadway widening in Flagstaff, Arizona; street improvements in Sarasota, Florida; and rehabilitation of the West Newton Bridge in Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania.
- $785 million for 24 projects through the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program. Projects included replacing a bridge in Cullman, Alabama, and replacing dirt roads in two Kansas counties with paved roads and stormwater infrastructure.
- $544 million for 81 communities under the Reconnecting Communities Pilot discretionary grant program. Nearly $27 million will go to the Housing Authority of the City of Los Angeles to create a network of accessible pathways in the Watts neighborhood, while more than $85 million will go to deck over a block-long section of U.S. Route 40 in Baltimore.
- More than $332 million for 171 projects through the Federal Aviation Administration’s Airport Infrastructure Grants program. Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport will get $84.3 million for a new taxiway and bridge, and $6.7 million will go to the Tallahessee International Airport in Florida for two new taxiways and other improvements.
Federal Highway Administration:
- $635 million for 49 projects to install more than 11,500 electric vehicle charging ports, along with hydrogen and natural gas refueling infrastructure, across 27 states, tribal communities and the District of Columbia.
- $44.5 million in grants to 14 projects under the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program. Detroit will get $10.5 million to build a portion of a greenway along a former rail corridor; the Metropolitan Government of Nashville-Davidson County will receive nearly $9.4 million to connect a historically underserved neighborhood with downtown Nashville, Tennessee.
Federal Transit Administration:
- $1.97 billion to the Chicago Transit Authority to help extend the Red Line 5.5 miles to provide train service to four new stations on the city’s South Side.
- Nearly $150 million to the Indianapolis Public Transportation Corp. to help fund a new 24-mile bus rapid transit line in Central Indiana and $22 million to Monterey-Salinas Transit to build a six-mile segment of a planned 20-mile BRT line connecting the two California cities.
- $9.6 million to 26 tribes and Alaska Native villages to improve their public transit systems in 14 states.
Federal Railroad Administration:
- $1.1 billion for 123 projects from the Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program to improve safety at railroad grade crossings in 41 states.
In announcing a selection of these projects Jan. 10, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said these grants will “further modernize our roads and rails, build out a national EV charger network, and ensure that transportation in the 21st century lives up to its basic promise and connects more communities across our nation.”
