Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act: Transportation

IIJA Transportation Funding Opportunities in Metro Atlanta

Nationally, the law provides an additional $274 billion in federal transportation funding between 2022 and 2026, effectively doubling total federal funding for transportation er that time, to $567.5 billion.

Funding is available in the following categories, through both existing programs and newly created programs that cover things like climate change, equity, and resiliency:

Roads, Bridges, and Major Projects (PDF)
Passenger and Freight Rail (PDF)
Public Transportation (PDF)
Airports and Federal Aviation Administration Facilities (PDF)
Ports and Waterways (PDF)
Safety (PDF)
Electric Vehicles, Buses, and Ferries (PDF)

What IIJA means for Metro Atlanta

The infrastructure law is a game-changer for the Atlanta region. Consider that only a relatively small percentage of the projects in the region’s long-range transportation plan, maintained by ARC, can be funded each year. With IIJA funding, many projects will be able to get off the ground much sooner than expected.

We don’t know exactly how much IIJA funding is coming to metro Atlanta. Here’s what we do know:

IIJA law increases funding for so-called formula programs that allocate dollars to states and local governments based on certain factors, such as population, that vary based on the program. Annual formula funding in Georgia is set to increase by about $400 million, for a total of more than $1.75 billion.
The law also funds competitive, discretionary programs, some of them brand new, that will require metro Atlanta communities to compete against others around the state and country.

Programmatic Opportunities for Metro Atlanta:

Reconnecting Neighborhoods Program: Invests in the redesign or removal of highway infrastructure that have divided communities for decades. Several potential projects are being examined to address reconnecting neighborhoods such as the Stitch project in Downtown Atlanta and the Midtown Connector project.
Linking Employment with Housing: For the first time, federal transportation policy explicitly requires the consideration of housing in the transportation planning process as a required planning factor.
Climate change: For the first time in a transportation bill, federal policy has been set to address climate change. Within two years, the state and metropolitan planning organizations - such as ARC - will have to prepare a carbon reduction strategy that reduces greenhouse gas emissions.
Roads, Bridges and Surface Transportation: Funding for transportation in Georgia will increase over 21% in the first year of the bill, from $1.4 billion to $1.7 billion. This increase allows communities to address a variety of needs through projects, such as repairing bridges and roads and updating traffic signals.
Transit and Livability: Funding for transit in Georgia will increase by 38% in the first year of the bill to $280 million. This increase allows the region to replace buses, expand transit services and improve bicycle and pedestrian connectivity through critical projects:

Transportation

IIJA Transportation Funding Opportunities in Metro Atlanta

What IIJA means for Metro Atlanta

Programmatic Opportunities for Metro Atlanta:

ARC Annual Partners