USDOT clears 529 grants for infrastructure projects

The Trump administration has cleared another $2.9 billion in transportation infrastructure grants that previously had been announced under the Biden administration, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy announced yesterday.

A total of 529 grants, which were announced but not yet "obligated" during President Biden's term, have been reviewed for compliance with Trump administration's policies, including those in opposition to diversity, equity and inclusion components, social justice requirements and certain greenhouse gas emission reporting requirements, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation press release.

This latest round of grant approvals include 34, valued at a combined $182 million, for rail projects. Among them:

• $69 million in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements program grants were cleared for eight projects;
• $83 million in Federal-State Partnership program grants were cleared for three projects;
• $28 million in Railroad Crossing Elimination program grants were cleared for 22 projects; and
• $2 million in a Safety Infrastructure Improvement program grant was cleared for one project.

According to Duffy, the USDOT under the Trump administration faced a "backlog" of 3,200 grant-funded projects that were announced during the Biden administration but had not yet been obligated. To date, the Trump administration has cleared 1,065 projects worth roughly $10 billion since Jan. 20.

The USDOT will continue to "rip out red-tape roadblocks" to get projects moving, he said in the press release.