Among the incoming President’s favored, frequently used words is “deal,” defined as “an agreement entered into by two or more parties for their mutual benefit, especially in a business or political context.” On Jan. 10, ten days before the White House changes hands, the U.S. Department of Transportation boasted of its own “Big Deal,” the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA), which over the past four years has pumped nearly $600 billion dollars into U.S. transportation infrastructure. A sizeable chunk has gone to rail projects. Several grants were announced Jan. 10.
Outgoing U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced nearly $5 billion in grants for 560-plus projects in all 50 states, Washington, D.C., and U.S. territories through seven BIL-funded programs: the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program, Restoration and Enhancement Grants Program, Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Program, Airport Infrastructure Grants Program, Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program, and Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program.
“This funding will support state- and locally-led projects of all kinds, adding to the more than 72,000 BIL-funded projects currently moving forward nationwide and the pipeline of projects that will be delivered in the coming years and decades,” DOT said. Among the Jan. 10 awards are projects that will “improve passenger and freight rail safety and strengthen supply chains across 41 states with $1.1 billion in funding for 123 highway-rail and pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects … strengthen intercity passenger rail service on six routes across the country with more than $146 million in funding through FRA’s Restoration and Enhancement (R&E) Grants Program … and improve and expand surface transportation infrastructure in rural communities with $785 million in funding for 24 projects designed to increase connectivity, improve the safety and reliability of the movement of people and freight, and generate local and regional economic growth.”
FRA’s $1.1 billion in Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program provides funding to 123 rail projects, improving or studying more than 1,000 highway-rail crossings nationwide, “the largest single investment in grade crossing safety in FRA’s history,” DOT said. “Combined with previous rail investments … FRA has now invested a historic $48.5 billion in BIL funding in more than 445 rail projects across the country and Amtrak. Rail grants announced [Jan. 10] for communities in 41 states will build railroad overpasses and underpasses, fund safety upgrades that will save lives and make improvements that will result in safer communities for pedestrians and motorists as well as rail workers and riders.”
DOT noted that the Biden Administration has provided $591 billion in BIL funding for more than 72,000 projects and awards in all 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories. Included are 445-plus rail projects nationwide “that will modernize and expand America’s rail network, deliver the first high-speed rail systems in the country, replace aging infrastructure on America’s busiest rail corridor in the Northeast, make freight rail safer, and eliminate or improve more than 1,400 highway-rail crossings.”
Two recent “major” projects:
- Columbia, S.C., Assembly Street Railroad Separation Project ($204.2 million): The proposed project was selected for Final Design, Right-of-Way Acquisition, and Construction and includes activities to support grade crossing-related improvements on Norfolk Southern and CSX-owned infrastructure. The project will consolidate freight operations from two corridors into one. The project “aligns with selection criteria by enhancing safety, as the project will improve safety, reduce delays, and enhance freight mobility.” The City of Columbia, Richland County, and South Carolina Department of Transportation will contribute the 20% non-Federal match.
- Illinois DOT CREATE Project GS1 ($43.1 million): The proposed project was selected for Final Design, Right-of Way-Acquisition, and Construction and includes activities to support grade crossing and bridge-related improvements in the Greater Chicago region as part of the Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency Program (CREATE). The project will improve infrastructure owned by the Belt Railway Company of Chicago. The project “aligns with the selection criteria of improving the mobility of people and goods and access to communities, as it will reduce vehicle delay due to gate-down time, improve railroad crossing safety, promote mobility and connectivity and advance sustainability and resiliency within Chicago’s Clearing West neighborhood, the Village of Bedford Park, and the Village of Summit.” The Illinois Department of Transportation and Belt Railway Company will contribute the 20% non-Federal match.
