Pete Buttigieg, U.S. secretary of transportation, recently revealed that transportation systems across the country will receive upgrades.

More than $2.2 billion was awarded from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, according to a news release from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT). The funding will target projects in urban and rural communities to modernize roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, and intermodal transportation.

The program is designed to make transportation systems safer, more accessible, more affordable, and more sustainable, the news release noted. The allocation includes an additional $7.5 billion over five years, which is intended to help meet the demand to jumpstart many of the programs.

"We are proud to support so many outstanding infrastructure projects in communities large and small, modernizing America's transportation systems to make them safer, more affordable, more accessible, and more sustainable," Buttigieg said in the news release. "Using funds from President [Joe] Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this year we are supporting more projects than ever before."

Projects were evaluated on several criteria, according to the news release. These criteria include safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness and opportunity, partnership and collaboration, innovation, state of good repair, and mobility and community connectivity. Across these areas, government officials weighed how projects will improve accessibility for all travelers, bolster supply chain efficiency, and support racial equity and economic growth, particularly in "historically disadvantaged communities and areas of constant poverty."