U.S. DOT proposes nearly $79m in INFRA freight-related grant awards

The U.S. Department of Transportation notified Congress of its proposed grant awards for 10 freight-related roadway, rail and port infrastructure projects last Wednesday, initiating a 60-day period in which Congress could vote to disapprove the list.    The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) has proposed nearly $79 million in grants for 10 freight-related roadway, rail and port infrastructure projects under a Highway Trust Fund program lawmakers established in 2015, according to a report by the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
   U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao notified Congress of the selections in a letter addressed to Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman Bill Shuster, R-Pa., last Wednesday, initiating a 60-day period in which Congress could vote to disapprove the list if it finds a project objectionable.
   Congress established the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program back in December 2015 as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to fund critical freight and highway projects across the country.
   The program is now called INFRA by the Trump administration, for “Infrastructure for Rebuilding America.”
   Chao said the USDOT proposed the following awards:
     • $12.3 million to La Plate County, Colo. for a project to realign 1.7 miles of U.S. 550, which will involve automated anti-icing systems and a southbound truck climbing gate for a “critical route” for freight trucks transporting cargo between Colorado and New Mexico;
     • $9.9 million to the Port of Moses Lake in partnership with the Washington state DOT to help complete construction of the Northern Columbia Basin Rail Project;
     • $9.85 million for intermodal improvements for moving cargo between different modes at the Port of Indiana-Burns Harbor;
     • $8.67 million to Taylor County, Fla. to upgrade the freight-hauling Georgia & Florida Railway to improve grade crossings, harden bridges and resurface tracks;
     • $7.89 million to the Maine DOT to upgrade 22 bridges on the state-owned Maine Northern Railway;
     • $7.54 million to help the North Central Mississippi Regional Railroad Authority improve 90 miles of freight rail tracks and a bridge;
     • $7 million to the Texas DOT to repair the Presidio-Ojinaga International Rail Bridge and rehabilitate around 72 miles of the state-owned South Orient Railroad;
     • $5.72 million for a project in Akron, Ohio to build bridges that will separate Evans Avenue road traffic from two heavily used rail crossings;
     • $5 million for a project to replace and update ferry docking and berthing facilities in Ludington, Mich. and Manitowoc, Wis.;
     • And $5 million for the New Hampshire DOT to replace the load-restricted Rodgers’ Rangers Bridge.