Road and Bridge Improvements Receive $5 Billion in Year-One of IIJA Discretionary Grant Program

What happened: ARTBA analyzed the first year of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) discretionary grant awards and found more than 70 percent of over $5 billion went to road and bridge projects. The IIJA provides the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) $45 billion in discretionary grants and other allocated programs over five years.

ARTBA tailored its analysis to grant programs its members would likely be involved in. The report also suggests areas for improvement in the law’s remaining years.

Why it matters: Discretionary grant awards allow the Biden administration to select awardees from state, county and local-level applicants that fit the parameters for each program. While the vast majority of IIJA funds are distributed via formula, grant awards are an important supplement to planned state investments.