U.S. Transportation Spending Bill Appropriates Billions

Washington, D.C. – Recently signed legislation allocates funding for freight safety programs and infrastructure grants for Fiscal Year 2020 (FY20). In total, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will receive $86.2 billion.

The Federal Highway Administration will receive $49.3 billion; the Federal Aviation Administration will get $17.6 billion; Federal Transit Administration – $12.9 billion; the Federal Railroad Administration – $2.8 billion; and National Highway Traffic Safety Administration – $989 million.

Included in the legislation is $1 billion for Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants and $679 million for the Motor Carrier Safety Administration.

Additionally, $1 million will go to the Office of the Transportation Secretary to study effective ways to evaluate transportation system resiliency. Bridges in poor condition across the United States will receive $1.15 billion for repair and replacement work.

Urban rail operators will receive hundreds of millions of dollars for work on various projects, including $300 million for Los Angeles’ Regional Connector and two Westside rail connections; $150 million for Massachusetts’ Cambridge-Bedford Green Line; and $120 million for Washington, D.C.’s new Purple Line.

Also, shortline railroads will receive a five-year extension of a tax credit that allows deductions of truck maintenance costs. These railroads have also been granted a pilot program for low-interest loans from USDOT.

Source: Strategic Partnerships, Inc.