Dive Brief:

• The FASTLANE transportation grant program, originally designed to support funding from the private sector, is currently being reworked by the Department of Transportation (DOT), The Hill reported. The program is believed to contain hints as to President Trump's as of yet unrevealed trillion dollar infrastructure repair program.
• Newly renamed the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program, it was authorized in 2016 to receive $4.5 billion over the next five years.
• INFRA seeks greater accountability from recipients about the disbursement of funds, ensuring that projects that are granted funding actually receive it. Further, DOT seeks to establish an “equitable balance in funding for geographic diversity among recipients” so that rural projects do not go begging. 

Dive Insight:

The shifting of the economic burden of repairing the nation's infrastructure continues apace, as President Trump calls on states, cities and corporations to bear the financial lion's share of rebuilding everything from roads to waterways, the New York Times reported.

Advisers to the President have revealed that his plan would allow the federal government to make a minimal investment  in rebuilding the infrastructure, relying instead on a mix of funding from private industry, state and city tax money, and lastly, borrowed cash. Some states are already leading the way, starting their own infrastructure programs through gas-tax increases and other motorist-based fees. States including Indiana, Texas and California have already announced infrastructure spending for toll roads, repairs, and highway capacity. The desired outcome is a vastly reduced federal investment, contrary to the expectation and understanding of numerous Democrats and Republicans.

However, a former Department of Transportation official expressed disappointment with the plan, and with the President's budget, which offered only $200 billion over the next decade to repair all aspects of the infrastructure. She noted that our infrastructure is actively threatening the economy.