We all know, just by even simply walking up and looking at most of our infrastructure, that’s in pretty rough shape. It seems that city, state and definitely the federal government can’t manage their budgets too well as it has been reported by Forbes that “Forty US states cannot pay all their bills.” So, it makes sense that our infrastructure will take a back seat even if reports, or collapses are occurring.
But this past week, The U.S. Department of Transportation announced a slate of grants aimed at improving infrastructure, safety, technology and efficiency at U.S. ports and rail hubs. The grants total to $292.7 million for the Port Infrastructure Development Program and for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvements Program they sum up to $326 million.
“This major investment in the Port Infrastructure Development Program will help strengthen, modernize, and improve our country’s maritime systems and gateway ports,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in a press release. In a separate release, the secretary said the additional “investments in intercity passenger and freight rail will benefit surrounding communities, make grade crossings safer and improve service reliability.”
So in May 2019, Secretary Chao launched of a $900 million Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Discretionary Grants program which is where these grants are stemming from. The program focuses on rural areas by awarding funding for surface transportation improvements that focus on “roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports or intermodal transportation.”
The USA needs a strong and robust infrastructure to carry us as the Superpower of the world into the coming years. This will create jobs and hopefully help in advancing our infrastructure and be a world leader again in that department as well.
