Two years after the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, federal funding for transportation and infrastructure is flowing more freely than it has in ages.
In the last three months, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded hundreds of millions of dollars to help replace aging passenger railway cars, improve railroad tracks and crossings, upgrade port infrastructure, fix roads and bridges, and repair dozens of fish culverts, among other investments…
Some of the awards will help cities make their streets safer. At the end of October, USDOT announced $82 million in planning and demonstration grants for 235 localities through the Safe Streets and Roads for All program. Aimed at reducing injuries and deaths on roadways, the program directly funds cities, counties, metropolitan planning organizations and tribal governments — rather than passing through state departments of transportation first. Some local leaders say they’re scrambling to apply for every bit of funding they can to support street improvements, not knowing how long it will be before the tap is turned off again.
