More than 40 projects that did not receive federal funding will now be eligible to apply for credit assistance as part of a new program, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced Monday.
According to the DOT, 44 projects will be designated as INFRA Extra, which would make them eligible to apply for assistance with up to 49 percent of the project’s costs. The INFRA Extra projects are ones that made it to the final round of funding under the 2021 Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program, but did not get funded.
“Every year, the Department receives far more qualified applications for the INFRA program than we can fund,” Deputy Transportation Secretary Polly Trottenberg said, “We’re excited to give some of the most promising INFRA finalists a chance to receive a TIFIA loan instead, so we can help advance transformative infrastructure projects all across the country.”
In June, the DOT awarded $905.25 million to 24 projects in 18 states as part of the INFRA grant program. The DOT said it received 157 applications from 42 states and Guam, totaling over $6.8 billion in funding requests.
INFRA grants are awarded based on the project’s ability to improve the local economy, create jobs and meet statutory requirements. This year, the applications were also judged on how they would address climate change, environmental justice and racial equity, and whether the projects would address historic underinvestment in rural areas. Approximately 44 percent of the proposed funding was awarded to rural projects, the DOT said.
The INFRA Extra initiative will provide those chosen INFRA applicants with the opportunity to apply for Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) credit assistance for up to 49 percent of the project’s costs — more than a traditional TIFIA loan which typically can fund up to 33 percent of a project’s costs.
INFRA Extra designated projects include the I-676 Stormwater Disconnection; Mitigating Street Flooding in Camden, N.J., from the Camden County Municipal Utilities Authority; the Western Hills Viaduct Replacement Project, from the City of Cincinnati; and the Bigelow-Sullivan Corridor Freight Mobility & Safety Project, from the City of Spokane Valley.
The Build America Bureau will contact eligible applicants to help them with technical assistance and provide information on the Department’s credit and financing programs.