After Removing Hurdles, DOT Clears 529 Projects

The Department of Transportation (DOT) this week touted that it has approved some 529 transportation infrastructure grants in recent weeks, but the long-term impact of these projects on the country’s health remains to be seen.

DOT officials state that the grants, totaling more than $2.9 billion, stem from the removal of policies from the previous administration, as it “continues to rip out red tape roadblocks to get dirt moving.” They added that the grants include projects announced more than three years ago, such as a $21 million project for rail safety improvements just north of Ann Arbor, Mich., that was announced in June 2022; a nearly $12 million project for the Manatee County Port Authority in Florida that was announced in September 2022; and a $110 million project to build a bridge to the Outer Banks in North Carolina that was announced in January 2023.

DOT officials explained that they inherited more than 3,200 unobligated grants that had been announced by the previous administration but never obligated. The agency stated that it green-lighted these project by removing key priorities under the Biden administration (i.e., diversity, equity and inclusion provisions, social justice requirements), but it also removed environmental protections such as carbon accounting and greenhouse gas emission reporting. DOT’s priority is to get the building going, regardless of the fact that these projects drastically diminish air quality and cause pollution that could create irreversible damage, which was a key reason the projects had not been obligated in the first place.

Regardless, DOT states that it has approved the following 529 grants:

• Federal Aviation Administration
  • Airport Improvement Program Supplemental — 23 projects ($124 million)
  • Airport Terminal Program — 10 projects ($33 million)
• Federal Highway Administration
  • Bridge Investment Program — 1 project ($1.5 million)
  • Congestion Relief Program — 1 project ($16 million)
  • National Scenic Byways Program — 1 project ($113,000)
  • Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects — 2 projects ($39 million)
  • Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient and Cost-saving Transportation Program — 32 projects ($369 million)
• Federal Railroad Administration
  • Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements — 8 projects ($69 million)
  • Federal-State Partnership — 3 projects ($83 million)
  • Railroad Crossing Elimination — 22 projects ($28 million)
  • Safety Infrastructure Improvement Program — 1 project ($2 million)
• Federal Transit Administration
  • All Stations Accessibility Program — 10 projects ($365 million)
  • Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive — 41 projects ($175 million)
  • Ferry Service for Rural Communities — 4 projects ($195 million)
  • Innovative Coordinated Access and Mobility — 14 projects ($5 million)
  • Low or No Emission (Bus) Grants — 26 projects ($187 million)
  • Passenger Ferry — 13 projects ($69 million)
  • Rail Vehicle Replacement — 3 projects ($372 million)
  • Tribal Transit Competitive Program — 43 projects ($16 million)
• Maritime Administration
  • Port Infrastructure Development Program — 2 projects ($56 million)
  • United States Marine Highway Program — 2 projects ($6 million)
• Office of the Secretary of Transportation
  • Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development Grant Program — 2 projects ($45 million)
  • Infrastructure for Rebuilding America Grant Program — 8 projects ($499 million)
  • National Infrastructure Project Assistance — 1 project ($110 million)
  • Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program — 1 project ($6 million)
  • Safe Streets and Roads for All — 255 projects ($69 million)

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