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BUILD Grants Favors Highway Over Other Modes

July 9, 2026

by Sean Jeans-Gail | VP of Gov't Affairs + Policy

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The U.S. Department of Transportation’s latest round of BUILD grants underscores a longstanding reality of American transportation policy: highways continue to dominate federal infrastructure investment at both the formula and discretionary level, while rail and transit remain secondary priorities.

USDOT announced $1.73 billion in BUILD funding this week for 127 projects across all 50 states, U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. While the program is designed to support projects with significant local and regional impacts, the distribution of funds reveals a striking modal imbalance. As spotlighted by Trains, approximately $1.3 billion—77% of the total—went to highway projects. By comparison, transit projects received $170 million and freight and passenger rail projects received just $88 million. Combined, rail and transit accounted for just under 15% of funding and 17 of the 127 awards.

For rail advocates, the numbers are especially noteworthy. Rail projects received only about 5.1% of total funding and 4% of project awards. This comes at a time when many regions are pursuing new passenger rail corridors, expanding commuter rail networks, and seeking capacity improvements for freight operations. This limited, eratic federal support is slowing corridor development and making it more difficult to build transportation systems that offer meaningful alternatives to congested highways.

The implications extend far beyond this single grant cycle. Since 2008, the Highway Trust Fund (HTF) has received roughly $275 billion in transfers from the U.S. Treasury's general fund and other non-user-fee sources to keep the fund solvent. This level of subsidy creates a powerful incentive structure for states and municipalities to continue to build almost exclusively around automobile travel. This can reinforce patterns of sprawl, increase road maintenance obligations, and limit alternatives for travelers who cannot or prefer not to drive—an especially absurd policy decision in the light of soaring gas prices.

The disparity also represents a missed opportunity to leverage the unique advantage of individual modes to generate broader economic, environmental, and mobility benefits. Freight rail is one of the most efficient ways to move large volumes of goods, while passenger rail and public transit can help urban regions accommodate growth without requiring endless road expansion. Countries that have invested heavily in rail infrastructure often cite benefits such as reduced congestion, lower transportation emissions, and improved mobility options.

This week’s BUILD awards also reveals a flaw in the proposed BUILD America 250 Act that advanced out of the House Committee on Transportation & Infrastructure early this summer. The BUILD America 250 Act relies heavily on annual appropriations to discretionary grant programs. This creates a significant initial hurdle to securing funding, since it’s highly unlikely appropriators will provide funding at the authorized levels. However, to the extent that the funding flows through discretionary grant programs, there would be a secondary hurdle in the form of grantmaking culture within the USDOT, which would continue to favor road projects over other modes. (It’s worth noting: this is an area where there is a noticeable difference between the two parties, with recent Democratic White Houses showing more interest in transit than recent Republican administrations.)

If policymakers hope to create a more balanced and resilient transportation system, future funding rounds will need to place greater emphasis on guaranteed funding for rail and transit projects.

We've extracted the rail and transit recipients below. For a full list of 2026 BUILD recipients, click here.

Applicant

Project Name

Project Description (At Time of Award)

Award Amount (At Time of Award)

San Luis Valley Council of Governments

La Veta Pass Rail Project

The project will remove a major chokepoint and cause of derailments due to poor rail condition at the La Veta Pass in rural Colorado. The project includes replacement of rail, ballasts, track materials, rail posts and ties, rail anchors, and 16-inch double shoulder tie plates in curves at or over 3 degrees and roadbed tamping and shoulder conditioning on La Veta Pass and its approaches.

$7,051,491

Montgomery County

Colebrookdale Railroad

This project will expand the rail yard to include a main line, two full sidings, and two stub tracks, and will also rehabilitate approximately 2,300 feet of track with steel ties and install retaining walls, stormwater infrastructure, utility connections, fencing, lighting, and security cameras. The scope also includes constructing a clear-span steel truss train shed equipped with a locomotive inspection pit, a radiant heat system, and passenger servicing utilities. The project will also structurally rehabilitate the High Street bridge with track safety work and aesthetic upgrades, and construct new lighted, security-protected pedestrian walkways that connect the station area to the West High Street sidewalk, the SEPTA/PART transit hub, and the Schuylkill River Trail.

$25,000,000

Port of Corpus Christi Authority

Inland Port – Rail Infrastructure Phase II

The project will construct rail infrastructure improvements at the Port of Corpus Christi Inland Port, featuring the installation of approximately 65,990 track feet of rail. The scope of work also includes the construction of approximately six #15 turnouts, approximately seven #9 turnouts, and approximately 12 derails.

$24,268,750

City of Arlington

UPRR Grade Separation Planning & Preliminary Engineering

The project will advance grade-separated crossing solutions at the Union Pacific Railroad intersections at Cooper Street and Collins Street. The proposed planning effort will complete feasibility analysis, environmental review, and 30 percent preliminary engineering to eliminate at-grade conflicts between freight rail and roadway users. The project will deliver implementation-ready alternatives.

$6,426,750

Virginia Passenger Rail Authority

Richmond Layover Facility

The project will complete final design and construction of an overnight storage and servicing yard to support existing and future passenger rail service. The project includes design and construction of three storage tracks, one maintenance platform, a service pit covered by a canopy, upgrades to the existing railroad signal system for entering and exiting the site, roadway improvements for access into the facility, a parking lot for staff, and a site building for equipment storage and staff facilities.

$25,000,000

Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission

L'Enfant Station and Fourth Track Project

This project will construct improvements at the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) L’Enfant rail station and add a fourth main track in the adjacent railroad corridor between the L’Enfant and Virginia interlockings to increase capacity for VRE and intercity passenger rail operations.

$25,000,000

City of West Palm Beach

Seaboard Multi-Modal Train Station Improvement Project

This project will involve the complete restoration and renovation of the historic Seaboard Train Station in Downtown West Palm Beach. The scope of work involves a full overhaul of the physical structure and will include specific remediation measures, such as replacing the full clay tile roof system, removing the deteriorated canopy, protecting critical mechanical and electrical components, and waterproofing. In addition, there will be interior and exterior upgrades, like rehabilitating gutters and installing impact-rated window glazing.

$5,000,000

Suburban Mobility Authority for Regional Transportation

Gratiot SMART Spaces Implementation Project

This project will construct transit upgrades along approximately 23 miles of the Gratiot Avenue corridor. These improvements include bus bulbs, pedestrian refuge islands, high‑visibility crosswalks, upgraded shelters, enhanced lighting, real‑time information, and queue jumps.

$25,000,000

Metropolitan Transportation Authority

Ronkonkoma Branch Grade Crossing Elimination Study

The project will prepare grade crossing elimination concepts along the Long Island Rail Road’s Ronkonkoma Branch in Suffolk County at the Straight Path, Wicks Avenue/Fifth Avenue, and Lowell Avenue crossings. The proposed project will conduct planning and environmental review work needed to evaluate and prepare long-term grade separation solutions.

$ 7,461,600

Integrated Transportation Authority of Puerto Rico

TuExtension: Tren Urbano High Capacity Transit (HCT) Extension

The project is a study of two four-mile, high-capacity transit extensions to the existing Tren Urbano heavy rail line. This project will expand upon an alternatives analysis conducted for a northwest extension to Old San Juan and initiate a separate analysis for a northeast extension to the Luis Munoz International Airport.

$10,000,000

Municipality of Barceloneta

Complete Streets Design Phase along La Playa and Palenque

The project will complete the planning and final design of two priority Complete Streets corridors along municipal transit routes connecting PR-2, PR-140, and PR-684 in the Florida Afuera and Palmas Altas wards. The project will deliver shovel-ready engineering plans, environmental documentation, and cost estimates.

$1,200,000

Rhode Island Public Transit Authority

Providence Transit Center

This project will construct an intermodal transit center in downtown Providence, directly adjacent to Amtrak’s Providence Station at 100 Gaspee Street. The project will include safe and accessible bus operation infrastructure, accommodations for micromobility users, and an indoor passenger concourse with ticketing, customer service, security, real time transit information, and other supporting amenities.

$ 25,000,000

Greenville Transit Authority

Greenville Transit Authority: Transit Center Redevelopment

The project will plan the rehabilitation of the transit center. The project includes conceptual design, benefit-cost analysis, environmental analysis, and other pre-construction activities. The study will address structural assessments, environmental compliance, stakeholder engagement, and safety for riders and operators.

$4,000,000

Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority

CARTA COMPASS Project

The project will implement an autonomous vehicle (AV) shuttle service in downtown Chattanooga, Tennessee. The Project deploys up to six FMVSS‑ and ADA‑compliant AV shuttles integrated with a Mobility & Innovation Command Center providing real‑time oversight, incident response, and data‑driven optimization.

$25,000,000

City of Knoxville

Regional Shared Transportation Facility - Planning and Feasibility Study

The project will evaluate the viability of a centralized, multi-agency transportation facility. This study aims to determine if a shared facility—integrating functions such as administration, fleet maintenance, fueling, and public transit transfers—can improve operational efficiency across multiple agencies.

$2,500,000

Dallas Area Rapid Transit

Enabling Universal Accessibility at South Dallas Light Rail Stations

The project will provide station platform leveling at eight South Dallas stations on DART’s Red and Blue light rail lines. This will include removing center crosswalks at stations where they remain, adding signage, upgrading surveillance technology, and incorporating other Crime Prevention through environmental design elements.

$25,000,000

Milwaukee County Department of Transportation

MCTS Facilities Modernization Project

The project will upgrade infrastructure at three maintenance facilities to include the replacement of underground fuel tanks, installation of modern heavy-duty bus lifts, and conversion of existing lighting to energy-efficient LED fixtures.

$14,700,000

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