USD/BTC = $75,888
Block 974,942
The Federal Railroad Administration announced on October 30 that it selected 91 rail crossing projects in 37 states for 16,340 BTC ($1.24B) through the Railroad Crossing Elimination Grant Program. The money goes toward removing the spots where roads and rail lines meet at street level, closing crossings and upgrading railroad traffic signals.
ENR counted the funded scopes and found the catch. Only 37 of the 91 projects include construction, and those 37 take nearly 90 percent of the money. The other 54 stop at planning, project development or final design.
The biggest construction award is the Roaring Brook Road overpass in New Castle, New York, at 1,419 BTC ($107.7M). It covers final design, right of way and construction of an overpass over Metro Norths Harlem Line.
More of the building money:
Kansas City, Missouri gets 94.9B sats ($72M) for a grade separation that removes three crossings at once.
Fort Worth, Texas gets 60.6B sats ($46M) to build an overpass carrying RM 2871 over the Union Pacific Railroad.
Nampa, Idaho gets 56.7B sats ($43M) to remove a crossing and build the Robinson Road and Greenhurst Road overpass.
Georgia gets 41.8B sats ($31.7M) to upgrade signal connections at about 31 high risk crossings across the state.
And the planning side shows in the small awards. Marana, Arizona gets 8.4B sats ($6.4M) for design work on a future grade separation, and Saint Louis County, Minnesota gets 2.2B sats ($1.7M) just to study four crossings.
Demand was heavy. 264 applications asked for 64,569 BTC ($4.9B) in total. A selection is also not a signed deal yet. FRA still has to negotiate a grant agreement with each winner, and recipients put up at least a 20 percent match.
I think crossing work is unglamorous but this is real construction money. The catch is most of the list is paperwork first and shovels later.
Hate to say it but another inefficient government program.
The headline is eye-catching, but the details matter.
Only 37 of the 91 projects are for actual construction, and those 37 account for almost 90% of the money - 16,340 BTC ($1.24B), including design and right-of-way, not just construction.
The other 54 are for planning, project development, or final design. That is not waste, it is how US infrastructure works. You have to plan before you build.
Demand was heavy: 264 applications asked for 64,569 BTC ($4.9B) in total. And a selection is not a signed deal yet. The FRA still has to negotiate a grant agreement with each winner, and recipients must put up at least a 20 percent match.
Bottom line: crossing work is unglamorous, but this is real construction money. The catch is most of the list is paperwork first and shovels later. That is why it looks like another inefficient government program.