Ordering a package delivery straight to your front door with a few taps on a smartphone. Making sure your small business has enough inventory to meet customer demand. Navigating a busy highway safely and with a minimum of stress. Underpinning all of this activity is infrastructure that works for all road users – whether their vehicles are carrying freight or passengers.

Today, through DOT’s innovative FASTLANE program, I’m proud to announce nearly $800 million in grants to improve our freight and highway infrastructure nationwide.

America’s ability to move freight remains the envy of the world, with our freight network distributing 55 million tons of goods worth more than $49 billion every day.

Still, if we want to not just maintain but improve our freight and highway systems while reducing congestion, the need for smart investment is paramount.

As DOT’s Beyond Traffic report explains, population increases and economic growth, combined with more and more urbanization, will put a great strain on our existing infrastructure. By the year 2040, for example, annual freight volume will grow to 29 billion tons – an increase of 45 percent.

Many communities nationwide are already dealing with freight challenges and highway bottlenecks long in the making. That’s why the demand for FASTLANE was overwhelming – we received over 200 applications seeking almost $10 billion in funding.

The goal of FASTLANE is not only to provide funding – though that’s important – but also to foster the innovation and efficiencies we need to move people and goods in a changing economy.

That means a flexible, multimodal network, and our FASTLANE grants address needs on our highways, bridges, railroads, and water infrastructure.

Managing such a network of interrelated projects might seem complicated, but it’s a task tailor-made for the new Build America Bureau.

The Bureau is a one-stop shop for innovative infrastructure at DOT, bringing together DOT experts in credit, finance, and project management to make sure that federal funds are used strategically and efficiently.

Our local partners will have access to the Bureau’s technical assistance to help them develop and complete their projects using the latest in project delivery techniques.

An illustrative example is the Atlantic Gateway project centered on Virginia’s I-95 corridor. This project will leverage public and private funding, including a FASTLANE grant, to improve rail and highway capacity on some of the busiest stretches of the Eastern Seaboard for both freight and passengers – unlocking benefits for all, in one innovative project.

This year’s FASTLANE grants mark the first round in a sustained, $4.5 billion commitment to freight and highway infrastructure over the next five years. A centerpiece to a suite of efforts across the Department, FASTLANE will serve as a catalyst for standing up a nationwide approach to ensuring an efficient, modern and safe transportation network.

While the challenges ahead are great, I’m confident that by bringing together our best minds, rolling up our sleeves, and getting to work, we can make sure future generations of Americans inherit a strong, dynamic economy powered by a world-class transportation system.