Dive brief:
- Road, rail, transit and port projects in the United States are receiving $1.8 billion in discretionary grants from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity program, also known as RAISE grants, the US Department of Transportation announced on June 26 .
- Funding from this program, split equally between urban and rural areas, this year will go to 148 projects in all 50 states and the District of Columbia along with American Samoa, Guam and Puerto Rico.
- This year, the RAISE program received nearly $13 billion in applications for the $1.8 billion available, the DOT said in a news release.
Diving knowledge:
The US DOT says on a website that the RAISE program uses “a rigorous merit-based process to select projects with exceptional benefits, explore ways to deliver projects faster and save on construction costs, and make necessary investments in infrastructure our nation.”
The program receives $1.5 billion annually from the Jobs and Infrastructure Investments Act of 2021 along with additional appropriations from Congress. It is the current iteration of three national infrastructure investment programs. Previous programs included the Better Using Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD, discretionary grants and TIGER grants for transportation investment-generating economic recovery.
“In [Washington,] DC, the funding will go toward bicycle and pedestrian improvements, including accessibility improvements and traffic signal improvements,” said Congresswoman Eleanor Holmes Norton, Washington’s non-voting delegate in the House, in an email. “I am pleased that DOT has announced these grants for similar projects across the country.”
Projects receiving funding in this year’s RAISE grant program include the following:
- In Santa Ana, California, a grade-separation project will get $25 million to rebuild an existing railroad crossing next to the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, an Amtrak and Metrolink commuter rail station that also serves buses local and intercity. The project includes protected bike lanes, sidewalks and a pedestrian crossing.
- In Durham, North Carolina, a project along the city’s busiest transit route will improve 33 intersections by installing accessible ramps and crosswalks, improving bus stop facilities and closing gaps in sidewalks The project received a $12 million grant.
- In Toledo, Ohio, $19.1 million in RAISE funding will go toward building more than 4,000 feet of a one-mile multi-use path for pedestrians and cyclists that is separated from vehicular traffic to reduce accidents.
- In Maine, three mostly rural counties will replace Downeast Transportation’s existing bus fleet with 24 electric buses, including chargers, using $23.5 million in RAISE funding.
