resident Joe Biden's signature on the $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) marks a "long-overdue step" toward a more competitive and prosperous economic future, the Association of American Railroads (AAR) announced yesterday.

The legislation includes nearly $845 million per year for highway-rail grade crossing safety and elimination projects and an average of $5.55 billion per year for discretionary infrastructure grant programs, such as $1 billion per year for the Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) grant program, which provides essential support to short line and passenger railroads as well as state departments of transportation, AAR officials said in a press release.