Dive Brief:
- The Biden administration has made a series of transportation funding announcements in recent days, starting Monday when Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg recommended that 14 major transit projects in 11 states receive nearly $4 billion in President Joe Biden’s fiscal year 2025 budget request to Congress.
- On Tuesday, the Federal Highway Administration began accepting applications for $1.2 billion in funding to reduce air pollution and greenhouse gas emissions through the low-carbon transportation materials program, which it established the Inflation Reduction Act.
- The US Department of Transportation on Wednesday awarded $3.3 billion to 132 projects through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Neighborhood Access and Equity discretionary grant programs.
Diving knowledge:
Although the FHWA and DOT programs are funded by current appropriations, the $4 billion transit funding recommendation is subject to future congressional budget negotiations. This funding is part of President Biden’s $7.3 trillion budget request, of which $109.3 billion would go to the DOT. The department recommended seven projects to receive capital investment grants for the first time:
- $263.7 million for commuter rail service between downtown Miami and the city of Aventura, Florida.
- $138.3 million for the North-South Bus Rapid Transit project in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, which will connect riders to centers of activity and jobs.
- $134.7 million for VIA Metropolitan Transit to provide bus rapid transit connecting the Alamo, the San Antonio Riverwalk, the University of Texas Downtown Campus, and downtown San Antonio.
- $500 million for the Transbay Downtown Extension project, which will extend Caltrain’s commuter rail service to the Salesforce Transit Center in downtown San Francisco.
Other recommended projects include $315.7 million for the Westside Purple Line extension in Los Angeles, $496.8 million for the Second Avenue Subway Phase 2 project in New York City and $350 million for the Red Line extension project in Chicago. The recommendations also include $700 million for the Hudson Tunnel project that serves New Jersey Transit and Amtrak trains.
Low carbon transport materials program
This program will be funded in two tranches, with the first $1.2 billion available to states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico for projects that use low-carbon materials and products to reduce pollution and carbon emissions. By the end of this year, the FHWA will make $800 million available to cities, tribes, metropolitan planning organizations and other agencies.
In addition to funding cleaner construction materials for transportation projects, the funds can be used to develop specifications for low-carbon materials that ensure adequate engineering performance in projects receiving federal aid. The program will also provide agencies with resources to coordinate with the private sector in measuring construction material emissions.
Community reconnection pilot and neighborhood access and equity program
The awards announced in this round include 72 planning grants, 52 capital construction grants and eight territorial planning grants. Examples include $50 million for a multi-use trail to connect the Atlanta BeltLine, a 22-mile trail that connects neighborhoods, with new trails along the Flint River in Georgia. Philadelphia’s Chinatown Stitch project will get $158.9 million to complete the first phase of design and construction work to close the Vine Street Expressway, reconnecting the divided historic neighborhood.
