BUILD America 250 Act allocates $110B for roads and bridges

The U.S. House of Representatives released the text of the BUILD America 250 Act on Monday, allocating $110 billion over five years for roads and bridges: the primary networks used by freight trucks.

The bill, formally known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, totals $674 billion in core reauthorization, with $240 billion in authorized and direct funding across trucking, rail, aviation, and ports. Debate is scheduled to begin Thursday.

What does the BUILD America 250 Act mean for truck infrastructure?

The highway portion of the bill directs $110 billion to roads and bridges. Within that total, $40 billion is specifically targeted to bridge repair, replacement, and rehabilitation. Another $16 billion is earmarked for major complex projects, tunnels, interchanges, and other infrastructure that eases truck-movement bottlenecks.

The bill does not include new Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) mandates, hours-of-service (HOS) changes, or CSA scoring adjustments in the text released Monday. The funding is infrastructure-focused, not regulatory.

Other modes in the bill

The bill allocates $102 billion to passenger and freight rail: the largest federal investment in rail since Amtrak's creation. The money supports track-backlog reduction, corridor improvements, intercity service expansion, and some freight-rail upgrades through grant programs including CRISI.

Aviation receives about $25 billion for airport repairs, maintenance, noise reduction, emissions-reduction projects, and modernization. The Trump administration's fiscal 2026 Department of Transportation budget request includes around $44.7 million per year specifically for aviation safety and cybersecurity at the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

Ports and maritime infrastructure are also funded in the bill, though specific dollar amounts were not detailed in the text released Monday.

How the highway money connects to freight operations

The $40 billion bridge allocation addresses a backlog that has forced weight restrictions and detours on thousands of routes. The $16 billion for bottleneck projects targets interchanges, tunnels, and corridors where truck traffic routinely stalls, infrastructure problems that add hours to delivery schedules and burn fuel without moving freight.

The bill does not mandate truck parking expansion, though past surface-transportation bills have included competitive grant programs for states to add truck parking capacity. The text released Monday does not specify whether such a program is included in the BUILD America 250 Act.

Carriers should monitor whether the final bill includes language directing DOT to prioritize bottleneck projects identified in the DOT Bottleneck Survey, a state-by-state inventory of the worst traffic choke points for federal congestion relief.

What carriers need to watch as the bill moves forward

The House is scheduled to begin debate Thursday. The bill must pass both chambers and be signed by the president before any funding is released. Surface-transportation reauthorizations typically include amendments during floor debate, some of which have historically added FMCSA pilot programs, ELD exemptions, or HOS rule changes.

Carriers should watch for amendments that could affect operating authority, safety ratings, or compliance deadlines. The text released Monday is infrastructure-focused, but floor amendments can shift a bill's regulatory scope.

The five-year timeline means funding would run through fiscal year 2031. States will receive formula allocations for roads and bridges, and competitive grant programs will open for bottleneck projects. Carriers operating in states with heavy bridge backlogs may see route improvements within the first two years if the bill passes and funding is released on schedule.