Texas to receive $13.9B in infrastructure funding
Texas will receive nearly $14 billion from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to be used for more than 310 projects. The largest portion of the funding, $10.8 billion, will go to transportation projects. Other portions include $645 million toward public transit, $246 million for clean energy, $147 million to build a network of electric vehicle chargers and $35 million to partially fund a new zero-carbon power plant at the Dallas-Fort Worth Airport.
Over $200 billion in competitive grants is available, and the North Central Texas Council of Governments already won a $25 million grant to improve bicycle and pedestrian routes in Dallas. The grant will cover about 57% of the project’s total cost. The city of Dallas and Dallas Area Rapid Transit (DART) will contribute a combined $8 million, and the rest of the funding could be provided by future grants for which the city is currently applying. Building over 30 miles of sidewalk within a half-mile radius of several DART light rail stations will benefit the southern Dallas community where 17% of the population has not access to a vehicle.
Houston Metro received $21.6 million to buy electric buses and charging stations to replace its diesel fleet. Austin CapMetro received $20 million to build a demand-response operations and maintenance facility.