The Biden administration announced Wednesday that it had awarded $1.8 billion in grants to 148 infrastructure projects across the country.
The grants will come from the Rebuilding America’s Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, which was expanded with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act. This announcement brings the Biden Administration’s total number of grants for these projects to 550.
One of President Biden’s greatest legislative achievements, the infrastructure bill added $1.5 billion per year to funding already allocated for RAISE Project Grants.
“After decades of underinvestment, the state of America’s infrastructure is finally improving, not worsening, and today we’re proud to announce support for 148 additional projects in communities of all sizes across the country,” Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said in a statement.
Buttigieg announced in June 2023 that the Biden administration had awarded more than $2.2 billion to 162 infrastructure projects from the RAISE program. Wednesday’s announcement comes just months before the November election, with Biden and his surrogates expected to tout the funding for projects in both Republican and Democratic states on the campaign trail.
The Department of Transportation said it has received more than $13 billion in funding requests this year, meaning demand is outstripping available funding.
The $1.8 billion awarded will include $12 million for a project to repair about 45 miles of Alaska Highway affected by melting permafrost and other degradation caused by climate change, and more than $23.5 million for a project to replace Maine’s bus fleet with electric buses.
It also will fund $25 million to rebuild railroad crossings in California, nearly $23 million for road development in Florida, nearly $25 million for footpath construction in Pennsylvania, and more than $21.2 million to rebuild a pier in Puerto Rico.
Additionally, the bill will fund more than $20.7 million in projects to connect communities in Michigan and more than $12 million in projects to improve intersections along bus routes in North Carolina.
