This week, President Biden visited Baltimore, Maryland, and New York City to highlight major Bipartisan Infrastructure Law projects that will bring much-needed updates to tunnels along the Northeast Corridor. These visits come as the Biden-Harris administration announced funding this week for infrastructure projects across the country that will create good-paying jobs, grow the economy, strengthen supply chains, improve mobility for residents , and will make transport systems safer for all users.
Here’s what Americans from Maryland to Oklahoma are reading about the administration’s funding for projects in their communities this week:
In Kentucky: WDRB: Federal infrastructure law provides additional funding for Brent Spence Bridge project
Main point: “President Joe Biden and Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a $250 million grant for the Brent Spence Bridge Corridor Project on Tuesday. … Funding will allow for the construction of a new bridge alongside the existing bridge, work to repair and reconfigure the existing bridge, and improvements to the interstate that serves the bridge.”
in Louisiana: Biz New Orleans: Biden Announces $60M Mega Grant for I-10 Freight Corridor
Main point: “The I-10 freight corridor improvement project was one of nine nationally significant projects selected for this first year of the Mega Grant program. … The project is designed to improve access to areas along the Mississippi Gulf Coast and major southern cities including New Orleans, Baton Rouge, Houston and Mobile. The Mega grant program will invest a total of $5 billion through 2026 to help rebuild the United States’ infrastructure. For this application cycle specifically, USDOT received applications requesting approximately $30 billion in funding, which was significantly more than the $1 billion funding available in 2022.”
In Maryland: Baltimore Sun: At ancient Baltimore tunnel that has often delayed travel, Biden makes ‘overdue’ rail upgrades
Main point: “As a United States senator, Biden commuted between his home state of Delaware and Washington on Amtrak for years. The president said he has passed through the tunnel 1,000 times while logging more than a million miles on the passenger rail. ‘He’s stuck with the delays of this tunnel many times,’ said US Senator Ben Cardin, Democrat of Maryland, during the program. The old tunnel, built during the post-Civil War administration of Republican President Ulysses S. Grant, is considered a bottleneck for Amtrak and MARC commuter trains because it forces them to skip at 30 mph or less.”
In New York: New York Times: Biden Offers Millions for New York Rail Tunnel, Courtesy of His Infrastructure Law
Main point: “During a trip to New York City on Tuesday, President Biden touted his $1 trillion infrastructure package as the solution. He said his administration would add $292 million in grants from the bill to the first phases of the sprawling project, known as Gateway. ‘This is just the beginning,’ said Mr. Biden, surrounded by Long Island Rail Road trains parked under the Hudson Yards development on the west side of Midtown Manhattan. ‘Final start to building a rail system for the 21st century.’”
In North Carolina: WCTI 12: Alligator Bridge included in Biden project funding
Main point: “Alligator Bridge in eastern North Carolina is one of the sites that will receive funding from President Biden’s economic agenda. The North Carolina Department of Transportation will be granted $110 million to replace the Alligator River Bridge on US Highway 64 with a modern high-rise fixed span bridge along the main east-west route in northeastern North Carolina between I-95 and the Outer Banks. .”
In Oklahoma: The Oklahoman: Tulsa highway interchange awarded $85 million ‘Mega Grant,’ largest in state history
Main point: “‘This is exciting and welcome news for the Tulsa area and the state of Oklahoma,’ said Tim Gatz, Oklahoma’s secretary of transportation. ‘I-44 and US 75 are critical travel, freight and commuter corridors across the state, and this Mega Grant will help us make much-needed safety and operational improvements at this highly traveled interchange.’
