The U.S. Transport Secretary, Sean P. Duffy, has approved USD 2.9 billion infrastructure grants to support the implementation of 529 projects across all transport modes.
USD 183 million has been approved for the Federal Railroad Administration’s (FRA) programmes which will support 34 projects. The grants have been delivered for:
- The Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements (CRISI)- 8 projects (USD 69 million);
- Federal-State Partnership – 3 projects (USD 83 million);
- Rail Crossing Elimination – 22 projects (USD 28 million); and
- Safety Infrastructure Improvement Programme – 1 project (USD2 million).
The Federal Transit Administration secured USD 1.38 billion grants for 154 projects that will contribute to improved transit services and increased capacity. Rail or rail-related projects include:
All Stations Accessibility Programme – 10 projects (USD 365 million):
- USD 118.48 million access improvement at three stations in Chicago;
- USD 16 million for Blue LRT Line ADA station rehabilitation project of the Greater Cleveland Regional Transit Authority (GCRTA);
- USD 14.5 million for Bradley Beach station modernisation, USD 83.3 million for Brick Church station modernisation and USD 18.2 million for Pascack Valley station modernisation phase I (New Jersey Transit Corporation);
- USD 67.6 million for Green Line accessibility improvements (Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority)
- USD 8 million for low level Red Line stations Phase 1 continuation and USD 28.4 million for low level stations Phase 1 (Pittsburgh Regional Transit);
- USD 4.69 million for San Francisco Muni LRT accessibility improvement project (San Francisco Municipal Transportation Agency (SFMTA); and
- USD 5.5 million for Unlimited Streetcar access programe (New Orleans Regional Transit Authority).
A total of USD 372 million grants will support the modernisation of rolling stock fleets:
- USD 200 million for CTA (Chigaco) railcar purchase;
- USD 100 million for Metra’s modern railcars project; and
- USD 71.7 million for South Florida Regional Transportation Authority – rail vehicle replacement project
All these latest infrastructure grants include projects announced more than three years ago and include USD 21 million for rail safety improvements just north of Ann Arbor, Michigan, announced in June 2022; nearly USD 12 million for the Manatee County Port Authority in Florida, announced in September 2022; USD 110 million for a North Carolina bridge to the Outer Banks, announced in January 2023; and USD 47 million for the Port of Baltimore, announced in December 2023.
The U.S. Department of Transportation states that the Trump Administration inherited over 3,200 infrastructure grants that had been announced by the previous administration but were never officially allocated. This unprecedented backlog delayed vital investments in communities nationwide. Under Secretary Duffy’s leadership, the Department is working hard to speed up the release of these long-overdue funds and move forward with key infrastructure projects.
“We’ve done this by refocusing the department on core infrastructure – not enacting a radical political agenda. With a third of the last administration’s unprecedented backlog cleared, we will continue to rip out red tape roadblocks to get dirt moving,” the U.S Transport Secretary said.
The approved infrastructure grants bring the total number of approved projects to more than a third of the unprecedented 3,200 project backlog from the previous administration.
The Secretary Duffy has now cleared 1,065 projects worth roughly USD 10 billion since the start of this historic administration.
In April, the U.S. Department of Transportation took decisive action to reduce costs and ease the financial burden on taxpayers. One key example is the decision to remove the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) from leadership of the Penn Station reconstruction project in New York City, resulting in savings of USD 120 million in taxpayer funds.
Another notable move involved an agreement between the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) and Amtrak to cancel a USD 63.9 million grant previously awarded under the Corridor Identification and Development (CID) programme. The grant was intended for the Amtrak Texas high-speed rail corridor, formerly known as the Texas Central Railway project. Although initially announced as a privately funded initiative, the project’s projected costs escalated significantly, reaching an estimated USD 40 billion, prompting Texas Central to seek Amtrak’s involvement in order to secure federal funding.
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