Feds Announce $426 Million to Eliminate Bottlenecks and Congested Highways Across U.S.

The feds recently announced a $426 million investment in infrastructure projects in 12 states through the Department of Transportation’s Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects program.

The feds are investing to address the country’s top congestion bottlenecks, expand capacity for critical bypasses that serve thousands of freight trucks daily, and add multiple lanes to some of America’s busiest highways. The investments include:

• $85 million for the Florida Department of Transportation to construct a general-use lane in each direction along approximately 20 miles of I-4 between State Road 434 and State Road 472 in Seminole and Volusia Counties. The project will expand freight capacity and relieve bottleneck congestion, saving time and money for American families and freight carriers.
• $25 million for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority to deliver direct safety benefits by converting a congested four-lane expressway into an eight-lane standard freeway with median barriers and auxiliary lanes, implementing a safety strategy that targets a corridor collision rate 30 percent above the statewide average. The project also eliminates a critical freight bottleneck on the National Highway System.
• $11.3 million for the City of Savannah, Georgia, to support the construction of a new four-lane divided connector from I-516 to a realigned White Bluff Road. The upgrade includes improved storm culverts along a critical hurricane evacuation and port logistics route. The project also expands corridor capacity to meet surging industrial demand, supporting semiconductor manufacturing facilities and the growth of American exports.
• $53.5 million for the City of Wichita and the Kansas DOT to reconstruct and widen approximately 2.5 miles of roadway along K-96 from four to six lanes between Hydraulic Avenue and approximately 0.5 miles east of Oliver Street. The project addresses Kansas’s top-ranked freight bottleneck by expanding capacity on a critical bypass route projected to serve about 5,000 trucks daily.
• $28 million for the Lafayette City-Parish Consolidated Government in Louisiana to convert an existing signalized intersection into a grade-separated interchange, including ramps, flyover bridges, and roadway improvements along approximately 2.2 miles of Kaliste Saloom Rd. and approximately 3.5 miles of US-90. This will eliminate one of the top 100 freight bottlenecks in the U.S.

“America’s infrastructure is rated a C. Instead of wasting federal dollars on trains to nowhere, President Trump is investing in desperately-needed infrastructure upgrades that will enhance the way people and projects move,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said in a release. “From upgrading decades-old freight infrastructure to building new highways, this Administration is committed to making our supply chains resilient.”