Transportation projects across all states win $2.2 billion in federal funds

More than 160 projects across all states won a chunk of federal funds from a popular and competitive transportation grant program.

The projects will "make transportation systems safer, more accessible and more sustainable," said White House infrastructure senior advisor Mitch Landrieu Tuesday in a press call announcing the grants. "Each one of the projects are focused on driving local and regional impacts for large and small communities."

The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity, or RAISE, discretionary grant program saw its funding double — to $7.5 billion — under the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. Created by President Barack Obama, the program used to be called TIGER and, under President Donald Trump, the BUILD program.

It's one of most competitive and well-known grants for freight and passenger transportation, in part because of its flexibility, said Transportation Department's Assistant Secretary for Transportation Policy Christopher Coes said on the press call.

The grants fund multi-modal, multi-jurisdictional projects that often have a difficult time winning funding from more traditional DOT programs, the administration said.

The U.S. Department of Transportation received more than $15 billion in requests for the $2.26 billion in available funding, said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

"We have more funding for grant programs like RAISE than ever before, but there are still far more worthy applications than we were able to say yes to," Buttigieg said.

"Many of the communities have been trying to get a plan like the one they submitted for this program realized for years," he said. "And for those that didn't make the cut, we're going to work with them on how to come back stronger in future years."

The $2.2 billion marks the second round of funding. Last year, the administration also allocated $2.2 billion to fund 166 projects.

Roughly 13% of applicants who unsuccessfully applied last year won this year's round, officials said.

The money is equally divided between urban and rural areas. This year, 70% goes to communities that are considered low income or historically disadvantaged, marking a record high, Coes said.

The administration will work with the winning recipients to try to get project grant agreements in place, a sometimes cumbersome process that has delayed some projects.

Coes said that about 30% of the applicants said they can start construction in the next nine to 12 months.

Grants were awarded to all 50 states plus Washington, D.C., Puerto Rico and the Mariana Islands to fund everything from pedestrian bridges to transit hubs and road improvements, Landrieu said.

Road projects make up more than half of the winning applicants, with transit accounting for another 16%.

New York's Gateway Development Project, which is overseeing the Hudson Tunnel redevelopment, won $25 million for utility relocation and construction of a new 100-foot road bridge to carry Tonnelle Avenue over a new railroad right-of-way for the Hudson River Tunnel.

"Gateway is moving rapidly from planning to reality. The award shows confidence in GDC's growth and capability to receive federal funding," said Gateway officials in a press release. "Before this year is out, there will be shovels in the ground on this project and on the Hudson Yards Concrete Casing Section 3, so work will be underway on the Hudson Tunnel Project in both New Jersey and New York."