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Feds Offering Billions in Grant Money for Infrastructure Construction, Rehab Projects

Amid innumerous strategies and proposals to spark the nation’s economy and restore its aging infrastructure, the federal government announced several grant programs aimed at improving U.S. roads, bridges, airports and other connective arteries.  

The Department of Transportation (DOT) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) are making hundreds of billions of dollars available for a number of projects to address "America's crumbling infrastructure," a priority of President Donald Trump’s administration, according to information from the executive agencies.

The DOT announced a $1.5 billion Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant to fund reconstruction, rehabilitation, acquisition and improvement projects. The program is also aimed at improving transportation safety and seeks to engage state, local, and private partners.   

DOT will accept applications through the Federal Register up to November 2 and the program builds off the existing FAST Act program established during President Barack Obama’s administration. "The President and the Department are committed to revitalizing, repairing and rebuilding America's aging infrastructure," said Secretary of Transportation Elaine L. Chao. "By ensuring the right incentives, projects selected under this program will be better able to make significant, long-term improvements to America’s transportation infrastructure."

Both large and small projects will be eligible for the grant program, with large projects requiring at least a $25 million investment and small projects requiring at least a $5 million investment, according to information from the DOT. The program maintains the statutory requirement under the FAST Act that 25% of the grant funding is to be designated for “rural” projects.  

"For rural communities in need of funding for highway and multimodal freight projects with national or regional economic significance, INFRA is an opportunity to apply directly for financial assistance from the federal government," information from the department reads. "For these communities, DOT will consider an applicant's resource constraints when assessing the leverage criterion."  

On a smaller scale, DOT also announced the Federal Aviation Administration will dole out $230 million in Airport Improvement Program (AIP) grants. The grants will go toward "runways, taxiways, and airport signage, lighting, and markings which helps to create thousands of jobs" at 104 airports across the United States. Airports receive AIP funding each year based on passenger volume, according to the FAA.  

Additionally, another 133 airports will receive more than $105 million in funding. "U.S. airports are huge economic drivers," said FAA Administrator Michael P. Huerta. "AIP allows us to continue to invest in the safety and modernization of our nation's airports."  

The grants will be issued over the next several weeks to allow for the projects to commence during the warm-weather construction season. "The grants will ensure the projects at these airports are either under construction or completed prior to the onset of the winter season, which comes early in late fall in some parts of the country," according to information from the FAA.  

The direction of the nation's infrastructure spending has been a hotly debated topic among partisans in recent months. Sen. Charles Schumer, the top Democrat in the upper house of Congress, called for "significant, direct spending" in the nation's infrastructure during a speech on the floor of Congress earlier this year. He suggested any infrastructure plan must go beyond a reliance on a tax credit program, per a transcript of his remarks. 

Additional information about the grant plans can be found at the FAA’s website here and here and from the DOT.

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