USDOT Pulls Funding from Projects not “Car-Focused” Enough in Connecticut, New Mexico, Illinois

Communities around the country are receiving notices from the U.S. Department of Transportation that grants they were previously awarded for multimodal projects are being rescinded, reports Kea Wilson in Streetsblog USA.

According to local officials in New Mexico, USDOT’s letter notifying them that the department would no longer provide funding for the Albuquerque Rail Trail project stated that the money would go toward more “car-focused” projects. In Connecticut, “Naugatuck Valley Council of Governments Executive Director Rick Dunne told CT Post that DOT's rescission letter noted ‘they’re focusing multimodal grant programs on projects that promote vehicular travel.’” In the case of McLean County, Illinois, no reason for the grant denial was given other than that the awarded project “no longer aligned with [the department's] priorities.” 

Wilson notes that this is a developing story and that unconfirmed reports indicate that more grants are being clawed back as part of the administration's efforts to reduce funding for projects that don't promote driving. “Experts say the Trump administration has been testing the legal limits of its ability to rescind, delay, or demand significant modifications to previously announced awards for sustainable and equitable transportation since it re-entered the White House, though the administration is being sued for the allegedly illegal behavior.”