Buttigieg doles out transport grants with eye toward climate

(AP)- Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has doled out $905 million in infrastructure grants.

They will help fund repairs for a cracking bridge in Seattle during a crippling heat wave, the expansion of ports and freight rail in Iowa and Georgia to help reduce the number of greenhouse gas-emitting trucks on the roads, and also efforts to reduce traffic fatalities in southern Los Angeles.

The money for 24 projects in 18 states is part of a Biden administration shift of federal awards to promote climate-friendly policies and racial equity.

Buttigieg describes them as timely investments as communities seek to pull out from the doldrums of the COVID-19 pandemic and bolster growth while addressing climate change.