"According to a recent analysis by Transportation for America, funding for at least 13 competitive federal transportation programs under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act is set to expire Sept. 30 - which means that communities that completed arduous applications and won hard-earned grants as many as three years ago might not actually get their money, now, unless the federal Department of Transportation has signed a legal contract obligating the federal government to actually release their awarded funds."
"The advocacy group is still analyzing which projects are at risk, but says it will almost certainly include multiple grants doled out under the popular "Reconnecting Communities" Program, which helps remove and remediate the harmful impacts of highways and other transportation projects in neighborhoods; the All Stations Accessibility Program, which makes transit stations accessible to people with mobility challenges; and the University Transportation Centers Program, which provides critical road safety research."
Federal discretionary grants from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act risk expiring on Sept. 30 because the Department of Transportation has not executed obligation agreements for at least 13 competitive programs. Communities that won grants after arduous application processes may not receive awarded funds unless legal contracts are signed. Insiders describe a deliberate delay strategy to allow unobligated discretionary awards to lapse. Programs likely affected include Reconnecting Communities, the All Stations Accessibility Program, and the University Transportation Centers Program. Some experts attribute the vulnerability to the IIJA's heavy reliance on labor-intensive discretionary grants and urge more guaranteed funding in the next surface transportation bill.
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