US DOT Picks Winners for $900M in New BUILD Grants

Rehab of Washington Bridge (bottom) in Providence, R.I., was one of six projects to win the maximum $25-million BUILD grant from U.S. DOT. (Image courtesy Rhode Island Dept. of Transportation)

The U.S. Dept. of Transportation has awarded about $900 million in the latest round of its much-sought BUILD grants, dividing the funds among 55 projects in 35 states.

In announcing the winners for the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development grants on Nov. 12, DOT noted that 50% of the $883.9-million total awarded are going to projects in rural areas, continuing a Trump administration emphasis.

Six projects are receiving the maximum $25-million grant amount. They are: a marine terminal in Anchorage, Alaska; a highway interchange in Aurora, Colo.; a dam mitigation and recreational trail in Des Moines, Iowa; a bridge replacement in Augusta, Maine; a bridge overhaul in Providence, R.I.; and a road and street reconstruction in Houston. [View DOT state-by-state table of BUILD grant round, with fact sheets on each project here.]

BUILD grants provide only part of a project’s total cost. Typically, they are combined with state and local funds or other federal dollars, as well as private-sector contributions.

The program was launched in 2009 as the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants and was renamed by the Trump administration.

As with past rounds of the grants, competition was intense. A DOT spokesman said via email that the department received 666 eligible applications, which sought a total of $9.6 billion.

Among project types, the roads category led the way, accounting for 38 grants and a combined 69.1% of the total dollars awarded, according to DOT figures provided to ENR. Seven maritime projects were selected, receiving 12.7% of the total amount.

There were six winning transit projects, receiving 10.9% of the total; three rail projects, with 5.5% of the funds; and one aviation project, with 1.8% of the dollars.

Story updated on 11/15/19 with ENR calculation of total dollars DOT awarded, rounded.

Tom Ichniowski has been writing about the federal government as ENR’s Washington Bureau Chief since the George H.W. Bush administration, and he has covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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