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Originally Posted by 202_Cyclist
There is another $5B in competitive grant money for mega-projects. I would expect some of this will be spent on the Gateway tunnel replacement and the Baltimore tunnel replacement.
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Interested to see how these totals compare to the $8B from Obama's ARRA stimulus a decade ago, factoring in inflation/construction cost escalation and accounting for the various set-asides in the new bill. Probably about 2x-3x the size when comparing apples-apples.
Also will be interested to see if Republican states boycott the program like last time, or if they will go for their fair share of the money. The Midwest was the worst offender last time (apart from Illinois and Michigan) but there are promising rail corridors in other red states too. NOLA-Baton Rouge, Atlanta-Charlotte, etc. Brightline may try to seek partial Federal funding for their Tampa extension, especially if local leaders are forcing them to spend an extra $1B on a more costly route thru I-Drive area near Orlando.
It definitely helps that Biden is pushing this instead of Obama, if anyone can convince white working-class of the need for rail investment it is Biden. If he can't pull it off, there is no hope for at least another generation.