The U.S. Department of Transportation announced it had obligated nearly 530 previously announced grants, clearing the way for construction to begin.
The grants, part of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Act, had been awarded during President Joe Biden’s administration, but were awaiting approval in order to proceed. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said that by removing DEI and climate-related requirements, he was able to clear the grants from a backlog of projects waiting to move forward.
“While cynics in the press hysterically warned of doomsday delays, USDOT has been hard at work to get America building again,” Duffy said. “We’ve done this by refocusing the department on core infrastructure – not enacting a radical political agenda. With a third of the last administration’s unprecedented backlog cleared, we will continue to rip out red tape roadblocks to get dirt moving.”
The approved projects included some with grants awarded in 2022, including $21 million for rail safety improvements in Michigan initially announced in 2022, $12 million for the Manatee County Port Authority, announced in September 2022, and $110 million for a bridge to the Outer Banks of North Carolina announced in January 2023.
Duffy said the DOT inherited more than 3,200 unobligated grants that it was working to distribute. The DOT has removed DEI, climate change and social justice requirements, he said, that were inhibiting the obligation process. Duffy’s office said removing those requirements will save million on infrastructure projects.
The latest announcement cleared 529 grants from the Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Highway Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, the Federal Transit Administration, the Maritime Administration, the Office of the Secretary of Transportation, including Infrastructure for Rebuilding America, National Infrastructure Project Assistance and the Safe Streets for All program grants.