New program increases investment in USA roads and bridges

U.S. transportation executives announced $2,2 billion in funding for local infrastructure projects nationwide – new bridges, roads and railroads.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the projects will help in modernization America’s transportation systems. The US Department of Transportation received grant applications of about $13 billion, he said.

The grants are more than double the amount given in the previous year under the same program. The raise comes from a $1 trillion infrastructure bill backed by President Joe Biden that provided an additional $7,5 billion over five years for grants.

“This program recognizes that many of the most interesting and compelling ideas, designs and plans do not come from Washington, but more funding is needed,” Buttigieg said.

A total of 166 projects across the country receive a share of $2,2 billion. The funding marks a significant increase from the $983 million spread across 90 projects in 2021. This funding is the largest since 2009 for the program, which underwent several name and focus changes during the presidential administrations of Barack Obama and Donald Trump.

Buttigieg traveled to Arizona to talk about projects in Phoenix and Tucson, both of which receive a maximum of $25 million. In Phoenix, the money will help build a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge across the Rio Salado, connecting the city’s south side to downtown.

In Tucson, the money will go to replace a 1960s vehicular bridge that is in poor condition. He will also add a separate bike and footbridge as part of what Mayor Regina Romero called “a transformative investment in Tucson’s infrastructure.”

The Tucson project will increase the number of lanes for car users, some projects elsewhere will reduce them.

The $17 million grant will help narrow a five-lane road to three lanes in the Chicago suburb of Munster, Indiana, to reduce traffic accidents. The money will also go toward building a 10-foot-wide multipurpose walkway along the street and planting more than 250 trees.

Texas and Kansas receive $25 million each for walking and biking trails. Huntsville, Alabama receives $20 million to improve a pedestrian corridor that connects downtown to isolated areas.

Among other projects, New Jersey is receiving $20 million to raise a roadway that serves as a major escape route for Atlantic City and its industry.