The Trump Administration has reportedly issued a new memo to state transportation agencies that could have sweeping impacts on millions of dollars in Portland transportation infrastructure projects. According to Yonah Freemark of the Urban Institute, who shared the news via Bluesky Monday morning, an email from US Department of Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has ordered DOTs to re-examine all projects funded with federal grants since 2022 to make sure they comply with Trump’s priorities and executive orders.
Duffy said any grant awards, “when the primary purpose [of the project] is bicycle infrastructure” could get the axe. Duffy’s memo says projects will also need to be scaled back or unfunded if they specifically address: “Equity activities, diversity, equity and inclusion activities, climate change activities, environmental justice activities, gender specific activities, when the primary purpose is bicycle infrastructure (i.e. recreational trails and shared use paths, etc.), electric vehicles, and EV charging infrastructure,” or if they, “improve the condition for environmental justice communities or actively reduce greenhouse gas emissions.”
“Where the scope of the project includes elements noted above,” the memo reads, “update project scopes to eliminate and, where possible, replace those identified elements with relevant elements that align with… current Administration executive orders.”
The new order would apply to projects that have been awarded a grant, but that have not yet spent the funding.
The League of American Bicyclists said in a statement yesterday, “These grants aren’t ideological, they are based on the local priorities for safer streets. People in these communities want these projects, and the states applied for these grants to better serve their citizens.”
As of January 28th, 2025, the City of Portland has $163.6 million in active federal transportation grants (which account for $48% of all the city’s federal grants, the largest portion of any category).
Here are some USDOT-funded transportation projects in Portland that could be subject to this new directive. Please note: I found these grant awards using the USA Spending website and by creating search filters that matched the USDOT memo; but this list has not been confirmed with the City of Portland:
- Protected bike lanes in the Portland Bureau of Transportation’s $3.5 million “Safe Streets & Roads for All” grant to improve safety on 122nd Avenue.
- PBOT’s $2 million Zero-Emission Delivery Zone project grant, which seeks to reduce emissions in the urban core.
- An $800,000 grant to PBOT for their Reconnecting Albina Planning Project that aims to create a governance structure for new land created by I-5 freeway covers in the Lloyd area.
- A $1.7 million PBOT project that would build bicycle and pedestrian upgrades on NE 57th Avenue/Cully Blvd between Klickitat and Prescott.
- A $1.6 million grant to PBOT for the 148th Avenue Safety and Access to Transit project that would build protected bike lanes and other safety upgrades on 148th between SE Powell and NE Halsey.
- A $585,000 grant for protected bike lanes on SE Stark and Washington Streets between SE 92nd and 109th.
- $3.4 million in multiple grants for the Jade and Montavilla Multimodal Improvements Project.
- A $2.4 million Metro grant to, “advance equity outcomes and pedestrian safety in the greater Portland region.”
- An $866,000 grant to build a new, carfree bridge over N Columbia Blvd to connect the Willamette Greenway Trail between Pier Park and Kelley Point Park.
- A $1 million PBOT grant that will add new bikeways and multi-use paths on NE Halsey near I-84.
The City of Portland has not yet responded to a request for comment, but a webpage on federal policy impacts published after Trump’s initial grant funding pause back in January states, “The City will continue to monitor decisions at the federal level and respond to the changing grants landscape. While any long-term impacts remain unclear, potential outcomes could be delays in reimbursements and project work, modifications in grant terms, or attempts at contract cancellations.”
The Oregon Department of Transportation also has a new federal funding webpage, but it hasn’t been updated to respond to this latest policy order.
Stay tuned for developments.
Learn more via Streetsblog.