By Gersh Kuntzman
12:00 AM EDT on March 12, 2025
Photo: Gersh Kuntzman
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has ordered officials to stop action on all Biden-era discretionary grants to build bike lanes and other "green infrastructure" so the agency can review the project for possible removal.
The memo cited as its authority five executive orders issued by the Trump administration that take aim at the diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals of the Biden administration, as well as the previous president's efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the nation's transportation system, which Trump and Duffy have characterized as a so-called "Green New Deal."
Those efforts were a centerpiece of previous DOT secretary Buttigieg's strategy to implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, from which he allocated billions of dollars in discretionary grants to sustainable and equitable modes — but now that Duffy and Trump are holding the reins, they've signaled that they'll use the same programs to vastly expand America's consumption of fossil fuels instead.
"The focus of this review," the memo stated, "is to identify project scope and activities that are allocating funding to advance climate, equity and other priorities counter to the Administration's executive orders."
As a start, DOT heads are being asked to undertake a "project-by-project review" to identify proposals that include references to not only DEIA, but also grants "whose primary purpose is bicycle infrastructure." After the review, "project teams" will conduct a review to "flag any project ... for potential removal" if the projects involve an "equity analysis, green infrastructure, bicycle infrastructure [and] EV and/or EV-charging infrastructure."
That review would also flag projects whose purpose is to "improve the condition for environmental justice communities or actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions." While projects that have fully obligated their funds are not subject to the order, projects with partially obligated funds are.
The memo sent an early morning shockwave through the League of American Bicyclists' annual "Bike Summit" this week in Washington, where attendees received an "all-hands" style email blast alerting advocates that "the Administration has ordered a HALT work on all discretionary grants (RAISE, SSFA [Safe Streets and Roads for All], etc) that have the words 'bike lanes' in it. Other DEIA catch phrases also included."
The email from National Bike Summit Organizer Caron Whitaker asked advocates — already fanning out across Capitol Hill as part of the annual "lobby day" — to "PLEASE make sure to spend some time focusing in on those grant lists!!"
Whitaker said that her read of the memo is that all projects that are solely related to active transportation are now being red-flagged and anything involving multimodal transport are being yellow-flagged. Highway projects, she added, still have a green light.
Hill insider Yonah Freemark posted two screen shots of the document on his Bluesky account:
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After initial publication of this story, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) slammed the Trump Administration for "ignor[ing] Congress and the law by slashing grants for bike and pedestrian infrastructure and EV charging.
“This unilateral decision by US DOT is halting four years’ worth of awarded projects and undermines the federal-state-local partnership for infrastructure delivery,” said Larsen, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. "It is nonsensical to abandon locally-developed projects that benefit communities across the country, and I urge the Administration to reverse course.”
The League of American Bicyclists said the halt on safety projects "will only hurt communities."
"Whether bike lanes for commuters or making kids’ routes to school safer, these federal funds are common sense investments in safety for everyone in the community," the group said in a statement. "These grants aren’t ideological, they are based on the local priorities for safer streets. In Arkansas, this will put an end to nearly $176 million in economic investments in road safety. In Mississippi, there are $115 million in the balance. People in these communities want these projects, and the states applied for these grants to better serve their citizens. The administration should enable these states and communities to do the work to make their roads and streets safer and better for everyone."
And Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey issued a terse statement on Bluesky.
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The U.S. DOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source (Archive)
WASHINGTON - This week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the department has rescinded two memorandums issued during the Biden Administration which injected a social justice and environmental agenda into decisions for critical infrastructure projects. Outside groups and key stakeholders have praised this decision for overturning the memo, which had imposed significant financial and time burdens. See what they are saying below:
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) shared:
“The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) firmly believes in the federally assisted and state administered framework established through the Federal-aid Highway Program more than a century ago. Congress reaffirmed its support for state-driven decision-making embodied in the formula program to state departments of transportation under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and we oppose any actions that do not align with this Congressional intent.
Thank you [Secretary Duffy,] for your stalwart leadership and support for each state’s full authority to meet its unique program and project needs through the formula program, which remains the proven approach to creating and maintaining a world-class transportation system that advances our economy, safety, and mobility.”
American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) shared:
“The cornerstone of the federal-state partnership that began with the creation of the Interstate Highway System is the autonomy of state and local leaders to make project selection decisions consistent with national objectives. We commend Secretary Duffy and President Trump for affirming today this long-standing foundation of the federal-aid highway program and removing any doubt about the authority of states to use highway formula funds in a manner that best meets their unique needs.”
American Highway Users Alliance President and CEO Andrew Stasiowski shared:
“The American Highway Users Alliance is pleased by Secretary Duffy and President Trump’s decision to rescind the Biden Administration’s memo ‘Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources to Build a Better America’ and the updated ‘Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources to Build a Better America’. Rescinding these memos gives clarity to the states, and restores their autonomy to determine how best to invest their highway funds. Investing in highways and expanding the capacity of our roadways is a priority of the Highway Users and we applaud yesterday’s decision.”
Associated General Contractors of America Vice President of Government Relations Alex Etchen shared:
“The rescission of the “policy memos” restores the long-standing policy that federal-aid highway programs are federally funded and state administered and eliminates the uncertainty those memos brought to the construction industry and state departments of transportation.”
Source (Archive)
Source (Archive)
12:00 AM EDT on March 12, 2025
Photo: Gersh Kuntzman
U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has ordered officials to stop action on all Biden-era discretionary grants to build bike lanes and other "green infrastructure" so the agency can review the project for possible removal.
The memo cited as its authority five executive orders issued by the Trump administration that take aim at the diversity, equity, inclusion and accessibility goals of the Biden administration, as well as the previous president's efforts to reduce the carbon footprint of the nation's transportation system, which Trump and Duffy have characterized as a so-called "Green New Deal."
Those efforts were a centerpiece of previous DOT secretary Buttigieg's strategy to implement the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, from which he allocated billions of dollars in discretionary grants to sustainable and equitable modes — but now that Duffy and Trump are holding the reins, they've signaled that they'll use the same programs to vastly expand America's consumption of fossil fuels instead.
"The focus of this review," the memo stated, "is to identify project scope and activities that are allocating funding to advance climate, equity and other priorities counter to the Administration's executive orders."
As a start, DOT heads are being asked to undertake a "project-by-project review" to identify proposals that include references to not only DEIA, but also grants "whose primary purpose is bicycle infrastructure." After the review, "project teams" will conduct a review to "flag any project ... for potential removal" if the projects involve an "equity analysis, green infrastructure, bicycle infrastructure [and] EV and/or EV-charging infrastructure."
That review would also flag projects whose purpose is to "improve the condition for environmental justice communities or actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions." While projects that have fully obligated their funds are not subject to the order, projects with partially obligated funds are.
The memo sent an early morning shockwave through the League of American Bicyclists' annual "Bike Summit" this week in Washington, where attendees received an "all-hands" style email blast alerting advocates that "the Administration has ordered a HALT work on all discretionary grants (RAISE, SSFA [Safe Streets and Roads for All], etc) that have the words 'bike lanes' in it. Other DEIA catch phrases also included."
The email from National Bike Summit Organizer Caron Whitaker asked advocates — already fanning out across Capitol Hill as part of the annual "lobby day" — to "PLEASE make sure to spend some time focusing in on those grant lists!!"
Whitaker said that her read of the memo is that all projects that are solely related to active transportation are now being red-flagged and anything involving multimodal transport are being yellow-flagged. Highway projects, she added, still have a green light.
Hill insider Yonah Freemark posted two screen shots of the document on his Bluesky account:
After initial publication of this story, Rep. Rick Larsen (D-Wash.) slammed the Trump Administration for "ignor[ing] Congress and the law by slashing grants for bike and pedestrian infrastructure and EV charging.
“This unilateral decision by US DOT is halting four years’ worth of awarded projects and undermines the federal-state-local partnership for infrastructure delivery,” said Larsen, Ranking Member of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. "It is nonsensical to abandon locally-developed projects that benefit communities across the country, and I urge the Administration to reverse course.”
The League of American Bicyclists said the halt on safety projects "will only hurt communities."
"Whether bike lanes for commuters or making kids’ routes to school safer, these federal funds are common sense investments in safety for everyone in the community," the group said in a statement. "These grants aren’t ideological, they are based on the local priorities for safer streets. In Arkansas, this will put an end to nearly $176 million in economic investments in road safety. In Mississippi, there are $115 million in the balance. People in these communities want these projects, and the states applied for these grants to better serve their citizens. The administration should enable these states and communities to do the work to make their roads and streets safer and better for everyone."
And Massachusetts Sen. Ed Markey issued a terse statement on Bluesky.
Tweet (Archive)
The U.S. DOT did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Source (Archive)
WHAT THEY ARE SAYING: U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy Ends Social Justice, Radical Environmental Agenda in USDOT Infrastructure Funding Decisions
Wednesday, March 12, 2025WASHINGTON - This week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy announced the department has rescinded two memorandums issued during the Biden Administration which injected a social justice and environmental agenda into decisions for critical infrastructure projects. Outside groups and key stakeholders have praised this decision for overturning the memo, which had imposed significant financial and time burdens. See what they are saying below:
American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) shared:
“The American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials (AASHTO) firmly believes in the federally assisted and state administered framework established through the Federal-aid Highway Program more than a century ago. Congress reaffirmed its support for state-driven decision-making embodied in the formula program to state departments of transportation under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, and we oppose any actions that do not align with this Congressional intent.
Thank you [Secretary Duffy,] for your stalwart leadership and support for each state’s full authority to meet its unique program and project needs through the formula program, which remains the proven approach to creating and maintaining a world-class transportation system that advances our economy, safety, and mobility.”
American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) shared:
“The cornerstone of the federal-state partnership that began with the creation of the Interstate Highway System is the autonomy of state and local leaders to make project selection decisions consistent with national objectives. We commend Secretary Duffy and President Trump for affirming today this long-standing foundation of the federal-aid highway program and removing any doubt about the authority of states to use highway formula funds in a manner that best meets their unique needs.”
American Highway Users Alliance President and CEO Andrew Stasiowski shared:
“The American Highway Users Alliance is pleased by Secretary Duffy and President Trump’s decision to rescind the Biden Administration’s memo ‘Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources to Build a Better America’ and the updated ‘Policy on Using Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources to Build a Better America’. Rescinding these memos gives clarity to the states, and restores their autonomy to determine how best to invest their highway funds. Investing in highways and expanding the capacity of our roadways is a priority of the Highway Users and we applaud yesterday’s decision.”
Associated General Contractors of America Vice President of Government Relations Alex Etchen shared:
“The rescission of the “policy memos” restores the long-standing policy that federal-aid highway programs are federally funded and state administered and eliminates the uncertainty those memos brought to the construction industry and state departments of transportation.”
Source (Archive)
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