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Roads, bridges, trails, ports: White House awards $2.2B in transportation grants
Traffic signal. (Askolds Berovskis / EyeEm/ Getty Images)
The U.S. Department of Transportation will send more than $2.2 billion in grants to state, tribal and local governments under a grant program that was expanded under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.
The $2.26 billion for 162 projects provides funds for each of the 50 states, two territories and the District of Columbia. It is similar to the allocation for the grant program last year, the first after President Joe Biden signed the $1.2 trillion infrastructure law that added funding for the program.
The projects include improvements and expansions of roads, rail, bridges, pedestrian trails and maritime infrastructure.
The Transportation Department has managed a similar discretionary grant program since 2010, though the name of the program and criteria have changed with each presidential administration. Funding levels, set by Congress, also vary year to year, ranging from roughly $500 million to more than $2 billion in each of the two years since the infrastructure law passed.
Under Biden, the department has prioritized projects that advance climate goals, racial equity and safety.
Two Arkansas projects selected
Old Stagecoach Road Complete Streets Connector, Bryant
RAISE Grant Funding: $25,000,000
Estimated Total Project Cost: $56,050,000
The project will reconstruct approximately 3.6 miles of Old Stagecoach Road (Highway 5), create a shared-use path, add continuous sidewalks, make storm drainage improvements, and complete utility work to help move residents more safely and efficiently to economic opportunities in Little Rock. The roadway improvements will also accommodate diversion of traffic from I-30 during times of peak congestion. The new sidewalks and shared use paths are expected to bring the crash rate in the underserved community of Bryant to below the statewide average. Additionally, the Arkansas DOT is engaging diverse communities to design and incorporate the complete streets improvements.
Russellville Connected Trail System
RAISE Grant Funding: $23,752,759
Estimated Total Project Cost: $23,752,759
This project will create approximately 13-miles of new active transportation infrastructure, consisting of 10-foot multi-use trails and 10-foot side paths that will improve access to jobs in the industrial district, health care facilities, schools, Arkansas Tech University, shopping and recreation in Russellville. The project will build separated bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure and use underpasses and flashing beacons to improve safety. Trail networks are anticipated to reduce vehicle miles traveled and greenhouse gas emissions.
Local input
In a call with reporters previewing the announcement Tuesday, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg emphasized that all the projects were proposed and planned by local authorities.
“It is particularly focused on communities’ needs,” he said. “We don’t design the projects at headquarters. We are proceeding very much on the idea that the answers don’t all come from Washington, but more of the funding should.”
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No project received more than $25 million from the program, the maximum for projects of less than $45 million total cost. The department selected 22 projects to receive that maximum.
The funding is split between rural and urban projects, White House Infrastructure Coordinator Mitch Landrieu told reporters.
Most of the funding — 70% — will go toward either areas of persistent poverty or historically disadvantaged communities. That represented a record high for the program, Buttigieg said.
Many of the communities that received funding had sought federal help for the projects for years, Buttigieg said. The department will work with communities that submitted highly rated proposals that were not accepted in this round to improve their applications for future years, he said.
About 10 projects that received grants this year had applied last year, Assistant Secretary of Transportation Policy Christopher Coes said.
A full list of projects is available here.
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Buttigieg and Landrieu highlighted a handful of projects on Tuesday’s call.
Iowa will receive $24.7 million to rebuild nine bridges in rural areas. The bridges’ poor condition forces detours for residents and commercial drivers, according to a DOT news release. The federal government will pay for most of those bridge repairs, estimated to total about $31 million.
The city of Jackson, Kentucky, will receive $21.1 million to widen a highway near Panbowl Lake. The area has been hit with severe flooding recently. The project will help improve resiliency to future floods, Buttigieg said.
An Atlanta trail project was among those receiving $25 million. The project, which has a total cost of $70.7 million, will add 4.8 miles to the BeltLine Northeast Trail, which is accessible to pedestrians and bicycles. The project will improve access to transit and to jobs, schools and other services in an area with 5,000 affordable housing units nearby.
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