Buttigieg Announces New Transportation Department Funding

Applications will be accepted until March 19 for a new round of federal Department of Transportation infrastructure project funding.

In announcing the funding’s availability, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said, “Now is the time to make lasting investments in our nation’s infrastructure.”

In a statement, Buttigieg added that the Transportation Department was committed to “not just rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure, but building back in a way that positions American communities for success in the future.”

Funding through Infrastructure for Rebuilding America, otherwise known as INFRA, discretionary grants can range in size from $5 million to $25 million.

By law, 10% of all available funds must go for small projects. In addition, the DOT is committed to awarding 25% of funding for rural-based projects.

The DOT will additionally place an emphasis on any proposed infrastructure project located in an Opportunity Zone or Empowerment Zone.

Priority will also be given to projects in Promise Zones, high poverty communities where the federal government partners with local leaders to spur economic activity, or Choice Neighborhoods, which also leverage public and private dollars for neighborhood development.

Buttigieg said the DOT is unveiling what is called an INFRA Extra Program, designed to identify competitive INFRA applications that fell short of obtaining a discretionary grant and authorizing them instead to seek a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act loan, which could in some instances pay up to 49% of a project’s cost.

INFRA grants typically fund a wide array of highway, railway, and intermodal projects. Last year a $60.7 million grant was awarded for a project seeing improvements to Interstate 70 in Engle County, Colorado.
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That project includes improvements to I-70 between mile post 180 and 190, the construction of an eastbound auxiliary lane, and the reconstruction of a bridge going over the Polk Creek.

​By Garry Boulard

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