DOT unleashes $4.2 billion in MEGA, INFRA grants to tackle transportation initiatives nationwide

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is announcing $4.2 billion in funding to advance transportation initiatives around the country. This funding will be used to advance large-scale and complex transportation projects poised to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of the nation’s roadways, ports and bridges. 

The DOT will deliver this round of grants through the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (MEGA) program and the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA) programs. Designed to fund large transportation projects, the two programs will support multimodal transportation initiatives throughout the nation. 

The DOT will deliver $1.68 billion in funding to 11 transportation projects through the MEGA program. The program, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, delivers grants and funding opportunities to transportation projects that are large, complex or traditionally difficult to finance. 

MEGA projects funded under this round will tackle a variety of transportation initiatives, including bridge replacements, port growth projects and highway interchange reconstructions. 

For this round, all MEGA grant awardees are as follows: 

• Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority – $472.3 million – to replace the Draw 1 rail drawbridge in Boston, including the related development of new rails, signals and switches. The project will reduce the bridge’s operational costs and improve freight efficiency. 

• Philadelphia Regional Port Authority – $217.2 million – to expand the operational capacity of the SouthPort terminal by developing ten acres of land next to berth one and constructing an additional berth downriver. 

• Illinois Department of Transportation – $209.9 million – to improve several aspects along a three-mile elevated rail corridor in Chicago’s South Side. The project includes track segment reconfigurations, an additional track on the NS line, replacing and restoring 14 aging bridge and viaduct structures and various mobility improvements. 

• Contra Costa Transportation Authority – $166.1 million – to complete a northbound express lane on I-680 from SR-24 to SR-242 and convert a High Occupancy Vehicle Lane into an express lane. Additionally, the project will construct a braided ramp system and implement Coordinated Adaptive Ramp Metering for a 19-mile segment of I-680. 

• New York City Department of Small Business Services – $163.8 million – to rebuild Brooklyn Marine Terminal (BMT), rehabilitate Pier 10, demolish and replace piers 9A and 9B and improve traffic congestion on the BMT campus. 

• Rhode Island Department of Transportation – $125.4 million – to replace the Washington Bridge North. The project includes restriping and resurfacing on the I-195 mainline to restore the bridge to full operating capacity. 

• New York City Department of Transportation – $96 million – to reconstruct a 1.35-mile-long corridor and implement bike infrastructure, curb extensions, raised sidewalks, bus bulbs and lighting treatments. 

• Illinois Department of Transportation – $95.6 million – to reconstruct portions of I-290 and the 1st Avenue interchange while implementing signalized interchanges on several roads. The project will also make drainage improvements to mitigate flooding. 

• Iowa Department of Transportation – $68.6 million – to improve the connections of Interstates 80, 35 and 235. Targeting an interchange with a high crash rate, the project intends to mitigate crashes on ramps caused by traffic congestion. 

• California Department of Transportation – $54.5 million – to construct a high-speed rail station for the Merced-Bakersfield California High-Speed Rail Interim Service. The project will include new platforms, trackwork, an overhead contact system, a bus depot, auto parking, an access roadway, multiuse pathways and a station building. 

• Maricopa Association of Governments – $12.7 million – to reconstruct a convoluted intersection connecting US 60, 35th Avenue and Indian School Road. The project will alleviate congestion along a six-legged highway/arterial intersection and develop accommodating infrastructure including bus pullout and shelters, wider ADA accessible sidewalks and new bridges. 

All rounds of MEGA grant awardees and a comprehensive list of projects for this cycle can be found on the DOT’s MEGA Awards FY 2025-2026 webpage. 

For the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded INFRA program, the DOT will allocate $2.58 billion in grants for 36 projects that will improve regional transportation networks. Funding through the INFRA program will support multimodal projects designed to enhance the safety, efficiency and reliability of freight and passenger movement in urban and rural areas. 

One such project, allocated $196 million, is the River Raisin Bridge and Interstate 75 Revitalization project in Michigan. The project, led by the Michigan Department of Transportation, will replace the aging River Raisin Bridge along I-75 and update existing structures to improve freight movement along a vital trade corridor. Currently, the bridge serves over 60,000 vehicles and approximately 15,000 trucks daily. 

Another INFRA grant awardee, the Nevada Department of Transportation, will receive $275.5 million from the DOT to widen I-80 between the Reno/Sparks metro area and the Tahoe Reno Industrial Center. The project will add one lane on both sides of the highway and provide benefits to freight movement, job creation and driver safety.  

Additionally, the project will create 50 new truck parking spots and improve safety and travel time reliability along a corridor that has seen higher crash rates in recent years. 

A full list of INFRA grant awardees can be found on the DOT’s INFRA Awards FY 2025-2026 webpage. 

The joint notice of funding opportunity application period for the MEGA and INFRA programs opened in March. Applicants were given the opportunity to submit a single Multimodal Discretionary Grant Program (MPDG) application that would encompass the MEGA, INFRA and Rural grant programs. The DOT received approximately 200 applications, requesting more than $27 billion in funding for various transportation initiatives nationwide. 

Between the MEGA and INFRA grant programs, the DOT has delivered nearly $12.8 billion in funding to 140 projects spanning 42 states, Washington D.C. and Puerto Rico. So far, these projects include 35 large bridge projects, 18 port projects, 20 rail projects and 85 highway improvement projects. 

While still in the process of evaluating MPDG applications, the DOT anticipates announcing selections for the Rural Surface Transportation grant program by January. 

Photo by Denys Nevozhai on Unsplash