$2.2 Billion in RAISE Grant Funding Announced for Transportation Projects

The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) competitive grant program, supersized by the federal infrastructure bill in 2021, just announced a new round of funding.

2 minute read

August 11, 2022, 11:00 AM PDT

By James Brasuell @CasualBrasuell


U.S> Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg delivers a speech in front of a bridge in Washington, D.C. The podium where he stands has a sign that reads: "Building a Better America."

Noel-Marie Fletcher / Shutterstock

The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced $2.2 billion in funding from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program. 2022 RAISE grants are for planning and capital investments that support roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, or intermodal transportation. The program will fund $7.5 billion in improvements over the next five years, due to an influx made possible by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

“Projects were evaluated on several criteria, including safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness and opportunity, partnership and collaboration, innovation, state of good repair, and mobility and community connectivity,” according to the U.S. DOT press release announcing the awards. The full list of awards can be found online.

Michael Laris picked up the news of the new grant funding for the Washington Post.

Christopher Coes, the assistant U.S. secretary for transportation policy, said 52 percent of funding announced Thursday is going toward roadway improvements, adding that a significant number of those included elements of Complete Streets, an effort pushed by the department to make roadways safer and more inviting for pedestrians. About 7 percent of the funding backed maritime projects, Coes said, while 4 percent went to rail.

The press release also breaks down the spending as 50% for projects in rural areas and 50% for projects in urban areas and nearly two-thirds for projects are located in areas of persistent poverty or historically disadvantaged communities. 

According to Laris, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Biden administration senior infrastructure adviser Mitch Landrieu are “traveling to key states this week to herald the grants and the progress they said they represent.” Among the projects to be highlighted by Biden administration officials are an innovative snow melting system in Berlin, New Hampshire; a project to relieve pedestrian ad freight bottlenecks in Tucson, Arizona; and a project to improve Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority’s Five Points station.

Thursday, August 11, 2022 in U.S. Department Of Transportation

Young Professional

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban and Environmental Planner

Get top-rated, practical training for planners

Overlapping highways

The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin

People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.

September 8, 2026 - Benjamin Schneider

The Hoover Dam blocking the Colorado River. The river's water level is noticeably low. The cliffs surrounding the blue water are brown and jagged.

US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico

A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.

September 11, 2026 - The Arizona Republic

Skyscrapers in Jersey City.

New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers

Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.

September 4, 2026 - The Cool Down

A New Jersey train approaches people waiting at the station.

Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds

A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.

September 15 - Mass Transit

A tall, gray power plant billows smoke into a blue sky.

EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants

Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.

September 15 - New York Times

A white RAPID bus. The lower half is light blue, and says RAPID in purple text. The bus is half visible, appearing from the left side of the image.

Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses

Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.

September 15 - KJZZ

FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?

After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.

Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold

The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.