USDOT OIG Outlines Challenges Agency Faces in Allocating Funding From Infrastructure Program

Three major challenges face the U.S. Department of Transportation as it implements the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, the agency’s Office of Inspector General said.

In a memo to Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg, USDOT Inspector General Eric Soskin said the challenges will affect how DOT allocates $1.2 trillion in infrastructure projects authorized by the law approved by Congress in November 2021.

• USDOT needs to effectively identify, assess and develop plans to mitigate risks to achieving its goals, particularly the heightened risk of fraud;
• The department needs to recruit, develop and retain the necessary workforce to implement and oversee IIJA programs while also effectively coordinating with key stakeholders to overcome their immediate administrative challenges; and
• The department needs to enhance and, in some cases, establish effective and efficient processes for awarding and administering IIJA grants and overseeing grantees’ compliance with federal requirements.

The infrastructure bill authorized $660 billion in funding for new and existing federal transportation programs and is expected to be implemented through fiscal-year 2026.

The memo said that $383 billion is reserved for contract authority — specified amounts that the department can expend in each of the years covered by the law — while $184 billion is designated for USDOT program appropriations.

Rail-related objectives of the allocations include paying for 15,000 new subway cars, buses and ferries and one year for investment in 75 new “Made-in-America” locomotives and at least 73 intercity trainsets to be used by Amtrak.

Michigan Rail Project Gets RAISE Grant

A Michigan rail project is among 23 freight and passenger rail projects in 17 states that have received a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity grant.

The U.S. Department of Transportation named the grant recipients this week that will share the $2.2 billion in funding being awarded in federal fiscal year 2022.

Altogether USDOT awarded grants for 166 projects, which were evaluated for how they met the objectives of safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness and opportunity, partnership and collaboration, innovation, state of good repair, and mobility and community connectivity.

The Northern Michigan Rail Planning Phase II Study and Service development plan received a $1.3 million grant.

The funding is to be used to develop a plan that considers new train services through 15 counties between southeast Michigan and northern lower Michigan.

USDOT Announces Grant Opportunities

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced on Thursday a $2.9 billion federal grant program for infrastructure projects.

In a news release, USDOT said the program will combine three existing programs, including the  Infrastructure for Rebuilding America,  National Infrastructure Project Assistance  and Rural Surface Transportation Grant into one multimodal discretionary grant opportunity.

USDOT said this will reduce the burden on state and local government applicants and increase the number of “shovel-worthy” projects being funded by money from the Investment in Infrastructure and Jobs Act.

INFRA grants target highway, multimodal freight and rail projects. Last year, USDOT awarded $1 billion in grants from this program but will have $1.55 billion this year.

MEGA grants fund major projects that are too large or complex for traditional funding programs, while RURAL grants support projects designed to improve and expand surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas.

This year the MEGA program will receive up to $1 billion and the RURAL program will award up to $300 million in grants.  

The deadline for applications involving all three grant programs is May 23.

USDOT Taking RAISE Grant Applications

The U.S. Department of Transportation is taking applications for Rebuilding American Infrastructure With Sustainability and Equity grants.

The agency said $1.5 billion is available in RAISE grants for federal fiscal year 2022.

Funding is available for projects involving rail, transit, road and port infrastructure projects.

The application deadline is April 14 with grant winner to be announced no later than Aug. 12.

The RAISE program is the first discretionary funding program to accept applications as directed by the infrastructure program approved by Congress last year.

In a news release, USDOT said the funding for RAISE grants is 50 percent higher than it was for FY 2021.

At least $75 million will be awarded to planning projects and at least $15 million in funding is guaranteed for projects located in areas of persistent poverty or historically disadvantaged communities.

Pittsburgh Agency to get TOD Grant

The Port Authority of Allegheny County in Pittsburgh was one of 20 recipients of Federal Transit Administration pilot program grants in its Transit Oriented Development Planning program.

The agency will receive $560,500 to plan for TOD on a 9.1 mile dedicated bus rapid transit corridor in the Upper Mon Valley.

FTA said in a news release that it will award $11.03 million in grants that support local planning and strategies to increase transit access and encourage ridership through mixed-use and mixed-income development near public transportation projects.

Ten of the projects involve rail public transit. No Ohio projects were selected in this round of funding.

Port of Cleveland Wins $3M USDOT Grant

The Port of Cleveland will receive a $3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

A USDOT fact sheet said the port will use the funding to conduct a comprehensive planning study that will address cargo handling, environmental, and economic development needs, in addition to regional-level planning goals.

The six components of the study will include a market analysis, a terminal capacity analysis, an intermodal connection assessment, a plan for port de-carbonization, a coastal resilience plan, and a regional-level cargo capability study.

The port is overseen by the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority.

The Cleveland port is one of 25 receiving grants from the Maritime Administration’s Port Infrastructure Development Program

A USDOT news release said the ports are sharing $241 million in grant funding for fiscal year 2021.

The three-year-old PIDP program providing grants to port facility for freight infrastructure improvements that boost capacity and efficiency.

Other ports receiving grants are located in Indiana, Kentucky and Michigan.

Tell City, Indiana, will receive $1.6 million for the Ohio River Pier Project to fund fund construction of a 40-foot diameter pier for a crane that will be used for direct barge-to-truck unloading of cargo. The pier design will allow the crane to operate regardless of water levels.

In Paducah, Kentucky, the Bulk Yard Infrastructure Revitalization and Expansion Project will receive $3,3 million for several related infrastructure improvements at the port.

The improvements modernize the port’s material handling equipment, repair damaged facilities, and upgrade site conditions in the port’s Bulk Yard.

In Alpena, Michigan, $3.7 million was awarded to the city which is partnering with Lafarge Alpena to upgrade and modernize that company’s port and landside shipping facilities to meet the increasing demand for the plant’s construction products.

Project improvements include berth dredging to increase the water depths within the port basin to satisfy larger vessels, stone dock demolition to increase the overall area for vessels to access the site, new mooring dolphins, the addition of a roof for a storage building, demolition of a storage building, and maritime security upgrades.

In Marquette, Michigan, $1.6 million was awarded for a project to improve  port infrastructure, dredge encroaching sediment to protect port infrastructure, and deposit dredge materials on shore to enhance coastal restoration and protect road infrastructure at the Port of Marquette.