Intermodal transportation industry groups are cheering the latest round of infrastructure funding dispatched from Washington to repair the nation’s bridges, highways, and freight terminals.
The reaction comes as the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) today awarded funding to 11 projects through the fiscal year 2023 and 2024 National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) program and 28 projects through the fiscal year 2023 and 2024 Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program.
Of those totals, members of the Coalition for America’s Gateways and Trade Corridors (CAGTC) received over 53% of the awarded funding in the Mega program, totaling a “staggering” $1.09 billion. They also nailed down $513.5 million from the INFRA program, CAGTC said.
CAGTC—which is a coalition of more than 60 public and private organizations dedicated to increasing federal investment in America’s intermodal freight infrastructure—noted that while the Mega program has broad eligibility, freight projects were the clear champions in this round. Created through the Biden Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), the Mega grant program invests in very large, complex projects that are difficult to fund by other means and will generate national or regional economic, mobility, or safety benefits.
Likewise, DOT awarded $2.9 billion through this round of the INFRA program, which provides federal funding to advance multimodal freight and highway projects of national or regional significance. The INFRA program was established through the 2015 FAST Act and was continued in the BIL with increased funding.
“According to USDOT, U.S. freight activity will grow by 50 percent in tonnage between 2020 and 2050. Investments made through the Mega and INFRA programs will be critical for preparing the supply chain to meet these growing demands and securing the country’s global competitiveness moving into the future,” CAGTC Executive Director Elaine Nessle said in a release. “We congratulate our members who received awards and commend USDOT for recognizing the importance of freight projects through its award decisions.”
Additional support for the new funding came from the Intermodal Association of North America (IANA), which said that its member organizations had been the recipients of over $728 million for their projects.
Among the award recipients are several projects sponsored by or supported by members of CAGTC, including:
- $283.37 million for the Port of Long Beach’s Pier B On-Dock Rail Support Facility (Mega)
- $73.77 million for the Port of New Orleans’ Louisiana International Terminal Project (Mega)
- $226.22 million for the Port of New Orleans’ Louisiana International Terminal Project (INFRA)
- $130.5 million for the City of Stuart, Florida’s St. Lucie River Railroad Bridge Replacement Project (Mega)
- $600 million for the Interstate Bridge Replacement (IBR) Program’s I-5 Bridge Replacement Project – the largest individual grant awarded among this year’s Mega recipients (Mega)
- $180 million for the Florida Department of Transportation’s I-4 Truck Parking Facilities Project (INFRA)
- $95 million for the Arizona Department of Transportation's Gila River Indian Community I-10 Project (INFRA)
- $12.28 million for the Washington State Department of Transportation and California Department of Transportation’s I-5 Truck Parking Information Management System Project (INFRA)
