Trump’s DOT is directing 87 percent of total grant dollars to states that backed the President in the last election.
New USDOT priorities are shifting more funding to roads and highways, with little left over for public transit or multimodal projects, reports Matthew Sage in Streetsblog USA. Sage outlines the $488 million in grants awarded under the DOT’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program, “one of the largest and most flexible tools the agency has to support infrastructure construction nationwide.”
According to Sage, two-thirds and 77 percent of funding for BUILD projects this year are going to roadway projects, many of them aimed at widening roads for drivers. Only four transit projects won funding this year, totaling around $49 million.
The grants also appear politically motivated: “An egregious 83 percent of the announced projects — representing 87 percent of total grant dollars from this cycle — are going to states that backed Trump in the last election,” Sage notes. Only three states — Alaska, Ohio, and Wyoming — received grants for multiple projects.
Read the full story: Trump Grant Program Pours Money Into Roads, Mostly Ignores Transit Projects
USDOT Pulls Funding from Projects not “Car-Focused” Enough in Connecticut, New Mexico, Illinois
The department is sending letters to local officials rescinding multimodal grants, saying the money will instead be focused on projects that “promote vehicular travel.”
Safe Streets Funding in Jeopardy
The Trump administration is specifically targeting bike infrastructure and other road safety projects in its funding cuts.
USDOT Blocks Federal Funding for Traffic Cameras
Applicants to the Safe Streets and Roads for All grant program will not be allowed to use funds for automated traffic enforcement.
Planetizen Federal Action Tracker
A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.
California plans to bury El Niño’s downpour
If the state plays its cards right, it may be able to store a billion acre-feet of El Niño’s water in aquifers.
Desperate measures: Advocates weigh draining Lake Powell to fill Colorado River
Draining the reservoir could reduce evaporation losses by a couple hundred thousand acre-feet.
Chicago Avenue bridge construction delays enrages city leaders
The bridge has been closed since 2025. The city originally aimed to re-open it in December, and now expects to finish construction in 2027.
NYC bus network redesign speeds up Queens buses
Rush routes have seen a 4.6% speed increase after the redesign.
California High-Speed Rail Authority picks trainset manufacturer
The California High-Speed Rail Authority aims to start servicing passengers by 2033.
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.
City of Rosemead
Rutgers University, Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy
One Hundred Miles
Hunter College, City University of New York (CUNY)
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
City of Cambridge
Montrose County
The Pocatello Development Authority