The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded more than $4.2 billion in funding through two major discretionary grant programs, the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) grant program and the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program.
The funding will support 44 projects, including projects that improve safety, mobility and economic competitiveness, constructing major bridges, expanding port capacity, redesigning interchanges and more. Three projects in Phoenix, Chicago and Providence, R.I., received awards from both programs.
The Mega program, which was created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and provides $5 billion in funding through 2026, is focused on projects that are uniquely large, complex and difficult to fund under traditional grant programs. The INFRA program, for which funding was increased more than 50 percent by the IIJA, also funds large scale, transformational infrastructure projects.
"Thanks to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the Biden-Harris Administration is carrying out ambitious, complex transportation projects that will shape our country’s infrastructure for generations to come,” said USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With this latest round of awards, dozens of major and much-needed projects – projects that are often difficult to fund through other means – are getting the long-awaited investments they need to move forward.”
Since the start of the Biden-Harris Administration in January 2021, nearly $12.8 billion in funding through the INFRA and Mega programs has been awarded for 140 projects across 42 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, including approximately:
- 35 large bridge projects
- 18 large port projects
- 20 rail projects
- 85 highway improvement projects
USDOT notes approximately 53 percent of projects that have received funding to date are in rural communities and about 42 percent of projects are located in disadvantaged communities.
Out of the $4.2 billion awarded in this round of selections, $1.68 billion will be used for the Mega program for 11 projects while $2.58 billion will be used for the INFRA program for 36 projects.
Applications opened in March under a joint notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for this year’s $5.1 billion Multimodal Discretionary Grant Program (MDGP), which allows applicants to submit one application for consideration under the Mega, INFRA and rural grant programs.
USDOT says it received approximately 200 INFRA and Mega applications, requesting more than $27 billion in funding, far exceeding the amount of funding available.
USDOT notes applications for the MPDG grants were evaluated based on the criteria published in the NOFO. The criteria included safety; state of good repair; economic impacts, freight movements and job creation; climate change, resilience and the environment; equity, multimodal options and quality of life; and innovation areas such as technology, project delivery and financing.
USDOT also considered cost effectiveness, project readiness and certain statutory requirements related to funding and design in evaluating the MPDG applications received. Rural Surface Transportation grant applications are still under evaluation and USDOT anticipates announcing selections by January 2025.
View the full list of Mega awards here and INFRA awards here.
Brandon Lewis | Associate Editor
Brandon Lewis is a recent graduate of Kent State University with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. Lewis is a former freelance editorial assistant at Vehicle Service Pros.com in Endeavor Business Media’s Vehicle Repair Group. Lewis brings his knowledge of web managing, copyediting and SEO practices to Mass Transit Magazine as an associate editor.
