PROVIDENCE, RI -- Today, U.S. Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse and Congressmen Jim Langevin and David Cicilline announced that Rhode Island has been allocated another $353 million from the historic Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (P.L. 117-58) to strengthen roads, bridges, and other key transportation infrastructure across the state.

The $ 352,961,207 in federal infrastructure funding for Fiscal Year 2023 is being released to the state this week by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration.

“We passed this historic law to upgrade Rhode Island’s transportation infrastructure and pave the way for stronger economic growth, less congestion and pollution, and more good-paying jobs.  This latest round of federal infrastructure funding will put more Rhode Islanders to work improving our roads, bridges, and other key infrastructure.  We will continue partnering with state and local leaders to put these game-changing investments to work,” said Reed, Whitehouse, Langevin, and Cicilline in a joint statement.

Decades of underinvestment has left Rhode Island’s roads, bridges, and tunnels in need of significant upgrades.  The American Society of Civil Engineers graded the condition of Rhode Island’s infrastructure as a C-. 

President Biden and Congress enacted the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help rebuild our nation while continuing to power America’s strong, steady economic recovery.  This law included the single largest dedicated investment in surface transportation infrastructure since the construction of the Interstate Highway System: creating good-paying jobs while improving the safety and efficiency of our roadways. 

Former President Donald Trump strongly urged Republicans to vote against the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and it was opposed by the majority of Congressional Republicans, including 200 House Republicans voting no along with 30 Republican Senators.

The new federal funding for Rhode Island in this latest tranche comes from a dozen initiatives under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration for the upcoming fiscal year.  Rhode Island’s allocation is part of a nearly $60 billion tranche from the U.S. Department of Transportation to support critical infrastructure in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  Under the law, each state has flexibility to determine how these funds can best address longstanding needs.

A breakdown of planned federal investments for Rhode Island’s 2023 allocation includes:

National Highway Performance Program: $161,704,782

Surface Transportation Block Grant: $78,667,191

Bridge Formula Program: $50,990,247

Highway Safety Improvement Program: $17,111,167

Congestion Mitigation & Air Quality Program: $11,592,052

PROTECT Formula Program: $7,975,979

National Highway Freight Program: $7,736,219

Carbon Reduction Program: $7,014,491

National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Program: $4,869,376

Metropolitan Planning: $2,498,805

Ferry Boat Program: $1,575,898

Railway-Highway Crossings Program: $1,225,000

The delegation estimates that over the life of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, Rhode Island should get over $1.7 billion in highway funding, $277 million for mass-transit, $45 million for airports, and $23 million for new electric vehicle charging stations.  Rhode Island will also receive $100 million to expand high-speed internet coverage and help low-income residents get affordable, reliable Internet access.

Communities across the country are already feeling the transformative impact of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law:

  • The Bridge Formula Program has supported repairs on over 2,400 bridges.
  • The Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Formula Program has funded over $200 million of projects in 21 states.
  • The Highway Safety Improvement Program supported improvements on more than 5,300 projects, including a total of 155 roundabout projects throughout the country that will reduce the number of traffic conflict points.
  • The National Highway Performance Program has funded more than 6,000 projects to improve safety and efficiency.