USDOT Awards $426M in INFRA Grants for Freight Bottlenecks in 12 States

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded $426 million in INFRA grants to highway and freight projects in 12 states, targeting congestion bottlenecks, truck bypasses and lane additions on some of the country's busiest corridors. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the awards on October 1, 2026 through the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program, known as INFRA U.S. Department of Transportation.

The awards move several large highway projects closer to construction. For contractors, they offer an early look at which freight corridors will see federal-aid highway work over the next few years.

What happened

USDOT said the investment addresses top congestion bottlenecks, expands capacity on bypasses serving thousands of freight trucks a day and adds lanes to heavily traveled highways USDOT INFRA program page. The department's release describes five of the selected projects, and state and local announcements have identified others U.S. Department of Transportation Kentucky Office of the Governor.

"America's infrastructure is rated a C. Instead of wasting federal dollars on trains to nowhere, President Trump is investing in desperately-needed infrastructure upgrades that will enhance the way people and projects move," Duffy said Florida Voice News.

Projects identified so far

• Florida, $85 million: Florida DOT will add one general-use lane in each direction along about 20 miles of I-4 between State Road 434 and State Road 472 in Seminole and Volusia counties U.S. Department of Transportation Florida Voice News.
• Kentucky, $85 million: The Somerset Northern Bypass, a new 8-mile, four-lane, fully access-controlled divided highway extending the Louie B. Nunn Cumberland Expressway east Kentucky Office of the Governor.
• Kansas, $53.5 million: The City of Wichita and Kansas DOT will reconstruct and widen about 2.5 miles of K-96 from four to six lanes, on a bypass route projected to carry about 5,000 trucks a day U.S. Department of Transportation.
• Louisiana, $28 million: Lafayette will convert the signalized Kaliste Saloom Road and US-90 intersection into a grade-separated interchange with ramps and flyover bridges, removing one of the country's top 100 freight bottlenecks U.S. Department of Transportation.
• California, $25 million: LA Metro will convert a congested four-lane expressway in Los Angeles County into an eight-lane freeway with median barriers and auxiliary lanes, on a corridor with a collision rate 30% above the statewide average U.S. Department of Transportation.
• Georgia, $11.3 million: Savannah's Project DeRenne will build a four-lane divided connector between I-516 and a realigned White Bluff Road, with upgraded storm culverts on a hurricane evacuation and port logistics route U.S. Department of Transportation WJCL.

Those six projects total $287.8 million, based on WCG's addition of the announced amounts. The remaining awards cover the other six states on USDOT's full list, which was not reproduced in the sources reviewed for this article.

How the money was made available

The FY 2026 INFRA notice of funding opportunity offered about $626.7 million: $319.8 million in FY 2023 INFRA funds, $106.9 million in FY 2024 INFRA funds and $200 million in FY 2026 commercial motor vehicle parking funds USDOT FY 2026 INFRA NOFO. Track 1 covered FY 2023 and FY 2024 funds for surface transportation projects, and Track 2 covered the FY 2026 truck parking funds USDOT FY 2026 INFRA NOFO.

The FY 2023 and FY 2024 amounts add up to about $426.7 million, which closely matches the $426 million announced, and USDOT's program page links the awards to its FY 2026 Track 1 selections USDOT INFRA program page. Based on those figures, the $200 million Track 2 truck parking funds do not appear to be part of this round, though USDOT has not said so directly.

Deadlines matter for schedules. The NOFO says FY 2023 funds must be obligated by September 30, 2031, and FY 2024 funds by September 30, 2027 USDOT FY 2026 INFRA NOFO. Projects relying on FY 2024 money will be under pressure to reach obligation within about a year. For remaining Track 1 funds, USDOT said it would prioritize large projects with total eligible costs of $150 million or more USDOT FY 2026 INFRA NOFO.

Why it matters to construction professionals

INFRA awards are usually one piece of a larger funding stack, but they often decide whether a long-planned project moves ahead. Kentucky officials said studies identifying the need for the Somerset bypass date to the early 1990s and that funding constraints delayed it Kentucky Office of the Governor. "This INFRA grant helps us move forward on a vision to improve safety, ease congestion, support the economy, and create better connections in South-Central Kentucky," said Kentucky Transportation Cabinet Secretary Rebecca Goodman Kentucky Office of the Governor.

The scopes in this round are heavy civil work: lane additions, new alignments, interchanges, flyover bridges and drainage. That means demand for earthwork, paving, bridge, structural concrete, drainage and traffic-control contractors in the selected states. Savannah's award, for example, will support right-of-way acquisition, which usually comes well before construction bids WJCL.

Implications for owners, contractors and subs

• State DOTs and local sponsors now need to finish design, right-of-way and environmental work and obligate funds by the deadlines.
• Heavy civil contractors should track letting schedules in Florida, Kentucky, Kansas, Louisiana, California, Georgia and the other six states.
• Bridge and structures subs should watch the Lafayette interchange and freeway conversion work, which include flyover and grade-separation scopes.
• Northeast contractors should note that this round mainly funds freight bottlenecks in the South, Midwest and West. Firms in New York should watch future INFRA and other discretionary rounds for state DOT and Thruway applications.

What to watch next

Watch for USDOT's full project list, grant agreements, state letting schedules and whether the $200 million in truck parking funds is awarded separately. Also watch construction starts on projects using FY 2024 money, given its 2027 obligation deadline USDOT FY 2026 INFRA NOFO.

Bottom line

The $426 million INFRA round funds freight-focused highway capacity work across 12 states. The amounts are modest next to total project costs, but they help move long-planned bypasses, widenings and interchanges toward construction.

Image credit: Office of Congressman Hal Rogers via WYMT. Image from the source article.

Sources

• U.S. Department of Transportation: https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/trumps-transportation-secretary-sean-p-duffy-invests-426-million-eliminate
• USDOT INFRA program page: https://www.transportation.gov/grants/mpdg-program
• USDOT FY 2026 INFRA NOFO: https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2026-06/FY%2026%20Nationally%20Significant%20Multimodal%20Freight%20and%20Highways%20Projects%20(INFRA)%20NOFO.pdf
• Kentucky Office of the Governor: https://www.kentucky.gov/Pages/Activity-stream.aspx?n=GovernorBeshear&prId=2855
• Florida Voice News: https://flvoicenews.com/florida-gets-85-million-for-i-4-expansion-in-426-million-trump-administration-infrastructure-investment/
• WJCL: https://www.wjcl.com/article/funding-federal-savannah-white-bluff-derenne/73981370