AASHTO Journal - USDOT Issues $4.9B in Infrastructure Project Grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued $4.9 billion in funding to 37 projects through two major discretionary grant programs: the National Infrastructure Project Assistance or “Mega” grant program and the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America or “INFRA” grant program.

[Above photo by USDOT]

The Mega program – created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act or IIJA – provides $5 billion in funding through 2026 to support projects that are “uniquely large, complex and difficult to fund” under traditional grant programs, according to USDOT.

For this round of Mega funding awards, the agency issued grants to 11 different projects that seek to generate national and regional economic, mobility, and safety benefits.

Concurrently, the INFRA program – which garnered a 50 percent increase in funding due to the IIJA – also funds large scale “transformational” infrastructure projects. For this funding round, USDOT issued grants to 28 projects that aim to improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of freight and people in and across rural and urban areas.

“Our INFRA and Mega programs are helping build the cathedrals of American infrastructure,” noted USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “[These are] truly transformative projects that will change entire regions and our entire country for the better.”

Several state departments of transportation-sponsored projects received grants through this latest round of Mega and INFRA program funding awards:

Indiana Department of Transportation received a Mega grant of over $127 million to improve 19 miles of interstate from the I-65 interchange in Indiana to the I-294/I-80 and I-94 interchange in Illinois by implementing eight Transportation Systems Management and Operations or TSMO strategies.
The Maryland Transportation Authority – a division of the Maryland Department of Transportation – received a Mega grant of $80 million to demolish an existing toll plaza on Interstate 895 and incorporate overhead gantries to facilitate automatic electronic tolling; replace two aging bridge; realign and reconstruct interchange; rebuild a section of the I-895 mainline; and improve an at-grade rail crossing.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation received a Mega grant of over $371 million to fund the design and construction of the Sagamore Bridge and approaches; improve local roadway connections; and relocate major utility systems. This award also includes fiscal year 2025 and 2026 Mega funding as well, USDOT noted.
The Montana Department of Transportation received a Mega grant of over $31 million along with a more than $34 million INFRA grant to replace and rehabilitate aging infrastructure on Interstate 90 between the Idaho-Montana state border and the town of Alberton, Montana.
The New York State Department of Transportation received a Mega grant of $150 million to help construct a new Multimodal Community Connector Roadway in New York City that includes dedicated bus lanes and bicycle/pedestrian paths, providing multimodal connections between neighborhoods on both sides of the Bronx River.
The Washington State Department of Transportation (WSDOT) and Oregon Department of Transportation jointly received a $600 million Mega grant to help update Interstate 5 with a seismically resilient replacement of the I-5 Bridge over the Columbia River.
The Arizona Department of Transportation received a $95 million INFRA grant for the Gila River Indian Community Interstate 10 Project, which seeks to widen approximately 10 miles of I-10 in the Gila River Indian Community and Pinal County from two lanes to three lanes; improving interchanges, removing or replacing low-clearance bridges; and installing a fiber-optic cable conduit.
The Colorado Department of Transportation is receiving a nearly $60 million INFRA grant to widen approximately 4.1 miles of US 160 from two to four lanes; adding left turn lanes, wider roadway shoulders, wildlife exclusion fencing, and a wildlife underpass.
The District of Columbia Department of Transportation received a more than $34 million INFRA grant to construct the East Capitol Street Corridor from Burns Street to Southern Avenue and implement traffic calming measures, geometric upgrades, multimodal features, transit improvements, pedestrian refuges, storm water improvements, and signal improvements for approximately 2.1 miles.
The Florida Department of Transportation received a more than $180 million INFRA grant to add approximately 917 truck parking spaces across four sites along Interstate 4 in District Five in Central Florida, which includes locations in Volusia County, Seminole County, and Osceola County.
The Hawaii Department of Transportation received a more than $74 million INFRA grant to fund the rehabilitation of deteriorating substructures supporting the Nanue and Hakalau stream bridges, replacing underlying trestles, bracing, scouring, and also completing environmental remediation.
The Minnesota Department of Transportation received a more than $1 billion INFRA grant to replace the Blatnik Bridge, a major connection between the cities of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin. The replacement bridge will address geometric deficiencies, increase capacity, and create a new shared-use path for bicyclists and pedestrians. The Minnesota DOT noted it is working with the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on this bridge replacement project.
The Missouri Department of Transportation received a nearly $93 million INFRA grant to help reconstruct 191 miles of Interstate 70 across Missouri.
The Nebraska Department of Transportation received a more than $21 million INFRA grant to reconstruct approximately 9 miles of Interstate 80, within its current lane configuration, in central Nebraska along with shoulders and replace a rural bridge over I-80.
The Nevada Department of Transportation received a more than $28 million INFRA grant to design and construct improvements on the Union Pacific Railroad Overland Route at the UP Elko Yard.
The New Jersey Department of Transportation received an $8 million INFRA grant to fund the reconstruction of Route 168.
The Ohio Department of Transportation received a nearly $9 million INFRA grant to construct access management and safety improvements over State Route 7 to the river port on the Ohio River, deploy innovative mobility solutions to track and manage real-time freight information, and expand multimodal technology components in a key freight and logistics corridor in Washington County.
The Rhode Island Department of Transportation received an $81 million INFRA grant to complete a two-stage project to fill in gaps between Interstate 95 and RI 4, creating a direct freeway connection and removing traffic from local roads, while also building three ramps to service RI Route 403 to expand access to the Quonset Business Park.
The South Dakota Department of Transportation received a more than $16 million INFRA grant to reconstruct approximately 8.7 miles of South Dakota Highway 73 while adding lighting improvements along nearly one mile of SD 248 in the City of Kadoka.
WSDOT, in partnership with the California Department of Transportation and Oregon DOT, received a more than $12 million INFRA grant to deploy a regional truck parking information management system at approximately 54 truck parking facilities along the Interstate 5 corridor in the three states.
The Wisconsin DOT received an $8 million INFRA grant to reconstruct a Safety Rest Area located near Sparta; expanding truck parking from 16 to approximately 70 spots, replacing deteriorated pavement, and constructing a more modernized facility.