DOT Announces $3.3 Billion in Grant Awards for Projects to Reconnect Communities

On March 13, 2024, DOT announced $3.3 billion in grant awards for 132 projects as part of the Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Neighborhood Access and Equity discretionary grant programs, funded in large part by IRA section 60501. Over 130 communities across 41 states and Washington D.C. will benefit from funding that allows communities previously cut off by decades-old transportation infrastructure to be reconnected via public transportation, sidewalks, bridges, bike lanes, and more. With the combination of these two programs, the Inflation Reduction Act provides additional funding for making this investment 18 times larger than the previous year’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program that was only funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. In this round of funding, DOT is awarding 72 Planning Grants, 52 Capital Construction grants and 8 Regional Planning Grants.