12 infrastructure projects aim to improve highway capacity, reduce congestion and keep freight moving
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has announced $426 million in federal funding for 12 infrastructure projects in 12 states, with an emphasis on reducing freight bottlenecks, expanding highway capacity and improving heavily traveled truck routes.
Announced Oct. 1, the funding will be awarded through USDOT’s Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight & Highway Projects (INFRA) grant program, which supports freight and highway projects of national or regional significance.
Projects selected for funding include interstate widening, interchange construction and improvements to major freight corridors.
Among the projects announced:
• $85 million for the Florida Department of Transportationto construct a general-use lane in each direction along approximately 20 miles of Interstate 4 between State Road 434 and State Road 472 in Seminole and Volusia Counties. The project will expand freight capacity and relieve bottleneck congestion.
• $25 million for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authorityto 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% 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 Interstate 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 demands.
• $53.5 million for the City of Wichita and the Kansas Department of Transportationto reconstruct and widen approximately 2.5 miles of K-96 from four to six lanes between Hydraulic Avenue and approximately 0.5 mile east of Oliver Street. The project addresses Kansas’s top-ranked freight bottleneck expanding capacity for a critical bypass route projected to serve approximately 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 Road and approximately 3.5 miles of US-90. This will eliminate one of the top 100 freight bottlenecks in the U.S.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy said the investments are intended to modernize aging freight infrastructure, expand highway capacity and strengthen the nation’s supply chains.
To review a full list of projects included in the funding efforts, click here.
Linda Garner-Bunch has been with The Trucker since 2020, picking up the reins as managing editor in 2022. Linda has nearly 40 years of experience in the publishing industry, covering topics from the trucking and automotive industry to employment, real estate, home decor, crafts, cooking, weddings, high school sports — you name it, she’s written about it. She is also an experienced photographer, designer and copy editor who has a heartfelt love for the trucking industry, from the driver’s seat to the C-suite.
