The Department of Transportation (DOT) announced a significant reallocation of federal transportation spending this week, directing billions of taxpayer dollars towards traditional infrastructure projects such as highways, bridges, and shipping ports. This strategic shift moves funding away from initiatives centered on bicycle infrastructure and diversity. The department confirmed that $1.73 billion will be distributed through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program, with the vast majority earmarked for projects benefiting drivers, truckers, and commuters nationwide.
"America is fortunate to have a builder in the White House who knows America is only as great as our infrastructure." — Sean Duffy, Transportation Secretary
Department officials stated that the overhaul aims to restore the grant program to its original purpose, citing years of what they characterized as neglect and misdirection under the prior administration. Approximately 77% of the total funding, amounting to $1.3 billion, is allocated for the repair and maintenance of roads and bridges along key transportation corridors. Ports and maritime facilities are set to receive a smaller yet substantial boost, securing about 7% of the overall funding package.
These figures represent a dramatic departure from grant distributions observed during the previous administration, where pedestrian and bicycle projects accounted for roughly one-fifth of comparable funding. In contrast, maritime infrastructure had received a mere 2% of grant dollars during that same period. Notably, this year’s BUILD grant cycle will not fund a single bicycle lane project anywhere in the country, according to department officials.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy characterized the funding changes as a return to the program's intended mission rather than the creation of entirely new policy. Speaking to The Daily Wire, Secretary Duffy stated, "America is fortunate to have a builder in the White House who knows America is only as great as our infrastructure." He further suggested that the effects of these new spending priorities would yield long-lasting benefits for communities nationwide, adding, "The impact of these dollars will be felt in communities nationwide for years to come."
The realignment of BUILD grant funding effectively dismantles a set of policies established by former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg during his tenure. Buttigieg had rebranded the BUILD program as Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE), steering its focus towards climate and racial equity goals. In 2021, Buttigieg publicly articulated that the program's mission would center on promoting equity alongside efforts to combat climate change. By 2023, official grant guidance mandated that applicants detail how their projects would address climate change, advance racial equity, and eliminate barriers to opportunity. That same year, Buttigieg also reinstated the Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity, a panel designed to integrate equity considerations into the department's rules, regulations, and programming.
Upon assuming control of the department, Secretary Duffy instructed staff to discontinue transportation policies rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) goals, as well as climate-driven mandates. This action aligns the Department of Transportation with executive orders signed by President Trump that seek to eliminate DEI programs across the federal government. The funding shift stands as one of the clearest examples of the administration’s broader effort to remove DEI-related spending from federal agencies in favor of traditional government functions.
Highways, bridges, and ports serve a considerably wider segment of the traveling and freight-hauling public compared to bicycle lanes, particularly in rural and suburban regions heavily reliant on vehicle transportation. This overhaul fits into a broader trend of the administration undoing transportation policies from the Biden years that had encountered resistance from conservative voices in Congress and the media.
It remains uncertain whether the department plans to apply similar funding changes to other federal transportation grant initiatives in the future. The BUILD program has operated under various names and priorities across several presidential administrations, serving as a discretionary funding tool for major infrastructure work. Buttigieg’s renaming and restructuring of the program had marked one of the most significant changes to its grant criteria in recent memory. This week’s announcement effectively resets those criteria, guiding the program back towards the traditional infrastructure focus it once had. Specific details regarding which projects and states will receive BUILD funding under the revised criteria were not included in this week’s announcement.
