Corridor ID Program at Risk

Corridors to be removed and funding reduced

Recently, we’ve been running stories about big infrastructure projects that are making real progress.

Northeast Corridor projects—including the Portal North Bridge, Frederick Douglass Tunnel, and the Susquehanna bridge—are major success stories. They’re under construction now because they were ready to go when the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (IIJA) made construction funding available.

One reason they were ready to go is that the Northeast Corridor is treated very differently than the rest of the country. Amtrak’s ownership of most of the Corridor, the Northeast Corridor Commission’s coordination, and a stronger funding stream give it a big advantage when planning for major projects. It is the only corridor with a long-term plan and a pipeline of projects.

Congress created the Corridor Identification Program, as part of IIJA, to help create a project pipeline nationwide. It established a federal process for states or other sponsors to create a long-term goal, build a phasing plan towards that goal, and get projects construction ready.

69 corridors were accepted into the program in December 2023. Then it stalled in early 2025.

Now, there’s talk that the Administration may dramatically scale back or alter Corridor ID. No public information is available yet, but it’s likely that the corridor list will be culled and funding for project readiness will be eliminated.

This would be a real setback.

To build lasting support for funding, it’s critical to have long-term plans and a pipeline of construction-ready projects spread across the country. Corridor ID is the first step towards building that pipeline.

Please let your representatives in Congress know that the program is at risk—especially if you live in a community with a Corridor project.

Here is the list of corridors and projects. (Please note that California High Speed Rail and Texas High Speed Rail have already been removed.)