$1 Billion in RAISE Grants Tied to Administration’s Policy Objectives
On April 13, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) published a notice about an annual $1 billion transportation infrastructure grant program, formerly known as the BUILD and TIGER grant programs, and renamed the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. Projects submitted for RAISE funding will be evaluated based on criteria that include safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, innovation, and partnership. The USDOT will also newly prioritize projects that demonstrate improvements to racial equity, reduce impacts of climate change, and create good-paying jobs, similar to new criteria recently set out for the INFRA grant program. Tying project grant funding to additional policy goals is a priority for the Biden administration, as White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki noted in early April, stating that it is their intention in their infrastructure proposal to include more competitive grant programs as “…a more targeted way to direct funds to specific policy goals.”
For more information, contact Alec Etchen at alex.etchen@agc.org or Cory Gattie at cory.gattie@agc.org.