High-Priority Infrastructure Projects

On August 31, 2011, President Obama issued a memorandum directing several Federal agencies, including DOT, to select infrastructure projects to be expedited through a more efficient and effective permitting and environmental review process.  DOT selected a mix of transportation projects that will improve safety, address maintenance backlogs, and increase regional economic competitiveness while protecting and enhancing the environment. These road, bridge, transit and aviation projects can be engines of job creation and economic growth in communities all across the country.    

DOT is committed to finding greater efficiencies in project delivery and helping our State and local project sponsors build projects that enhance mobility and provide transportation choices.  The expedited review will improve efficiency without shortchanging the rigorous environmental reviews.  This will not only move these projects to construction sooner but also will provide a case study for how to improve Federal cooperation to produce better outcomes.  Through initiatives like Every Day Counts, DOT is developing a toolkit to shorten highway project delivery and speed the deployment of proven, under-used technologies. 

Our efforts are helping us find greater efficiencies in current review processes.  But we can do more.  The six transportation projects selected under the Presidential Memorandum are being tracked on a dashboard to ensure greater accountability for the Federal agencies involved but also to provide increased transparency for the public.  This dashboard will provide an unprecedented insight into the steps required to deliver large projects and will highlight the successes of this effort as well as provide examples where lessons can be learned. 

Click on the projects below to learn more about each one.  Information will be updated frequently so please check back often to monitor our progress and learn more about our processes. 

As always, we welcome your feedback. Please contact us at HighPriorityProjects@dot.gov with any comments or questions.