The new bipartisan infrastructure bill gives the federal government much more authority over how transportation money will be spent across the country.
Congress passed the roughly $1 trillion package, one of President Biden’s top legislative priorities, late Friday evening. Typically, transportation funds are allocated via a traditional formula to states based on their populations, gas-tax revenue and other factors. But this bill includes dozens of competitive grant programs—many of them new—in which the Transportation Department will pick recipients from applications by state and local governments.
