U.S. President Donald Trump's team released a priority Emergency & National Security Projects list of 50 initial infrastructure developments in the pipeline, with an investment cost of $137.5 billion, according to a report by The Kansas City Star.
Trump's team has proposed that public-private partnerships, in a 50/50 division, will provide funding for the planned infrastructure projects.
At the top of the list was the $12 billion Gateway Program, focusing on the regeneration of pivotal, high-risk Northeast Corridor rail infrastructure linking Newark, N.J., to New York City. The planned development is seeking federal funding, while engineering works and securing permissions for the project are in progress.
Several bridge reconstructions also made the list, with the $2.5 billion Brent Spence Bridge project fronted by the Ohio and Kentucky DOT, and the $8 billion regeneration of all 15 bridges along Philadelphia's I-95 freeway taking the second and sixth positions on the list, respectively.
The list also includes a project to ease choke points for barge traffic on the Ohio/Mississippi rivers at a cost of $3 billion. In southern Louisiana, $1 billion in funding has been set to carry out dredging in the Mississippi River's shipping channel, in order to boost port competitiveness.
Other high-priority projects in the list are the building of a national research lab for infrastructure in Columbus, Ohio, that would cost approximately $2 billion and create about 2,300 direct jobs; $1.5 billion repair works on the I-95 freeway in North Carolina; and a $10 billion plan to upgrade the NextGen air traffic control system with satellite-based platforms.
The report dated Jan. 24 stated that it was unclear if the list was a draft in the works or a final compilation of projects. It was similar to another list circulated earlier by the National Governors Association, with the exception of two developments. Elena Waskey, the association's spokeswoman, reportedly said there were more than 300 planned projects, with the association having already received 43 suggestions from states and territories.
Trump's transition team was seeking about three to five project proposals from each state, the report noted, citing the association.