FTA Allocates $125M for Silicon Valley Transit Project
The Federal Transit Administration officially allocated $125 million to the Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority as part of the Bay Area Rapid Transit Silicon Valley Phase II project on August 28 – the first project to receive a funding allocation under the agency’s new Expedited Project Delivery pilot program. That program is designed to streamline project delivery of new transit infrastructure that meets program requirements, noted FTA Acting Administrator K. Jane Williams in a state...
WisDOT Announces Criteria for $75 Million Local Government Grant Program
The Wisconsin Department of Transportation (WisDOT) is providing funding through a one-time grant program designed to address critical transportation needs throughout Wisconsin. The $75 million Multimodal Local Supplement grant program is available to local and tribal governments. “The objective of this program is to provide local officials the flexibility and funding they need to address the transportation projects that are most needed in their communities,” Governor Tony Evers said. “The ML...
Pennsylvania Approves $13.7M in Airport Grants
Governor Tom Wolf (D) (seen above) gave the go-ahead on August 28 for $13.7 million worth of grants to fund infrastructure and equipment upgrades at 29 Pennsylvania airports. “Investments in our aviation infrastructure is vital to the economic vitality of the commonwealth,” the governor said in a statement. “Hundreds of thousands of jobs are supported by aviation in Pennsylvania and the new investments announced today will help airports bolster commerce and attract more customers.” Photo by...
FHWA to Redistribute $3.9B in FY 2019 Formula Funds
State departments of transportation will be divvying up more than $3.9 billion in federal highway program funds after receiving authority from the Federal Highway Administration on Aug. 30 to obligate unused fiscal year 2019 money to various infrastructure projects. [Above photo by the Arkansas DOT.] The funding is from what the FHWA calls its “August redistribution,” which is an annual budgeting practice under which the agency shifts federal funding authority out of accounts that are not...
Rice Wins 'Mass Timber' Funding From Feds
Research on mass timber construction by Jesús Vassallo, left, Rice's Gus Wortham Assistant Professor of Architecture, and Albert Pope, the Gus Wortham Professsor of Architecture, encouraged Rice University to consider the technique in plan to update Hanszen College. The university won a U.S. Forest Service grant to facilitate planning and approval of the proposed structure. (Credit: Jeff Fitlow/Rice University) HOUSTON – Rice University has won a share of $1 million in grants by the Depa...
USDOT Announces $225 Million in Grants
WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao today announced the recipients of $225 million in Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP) grant funding. Awarded to 20 projects in 18 states, the grants will fund a variety of bridge improvements including replacement and rehabilitation. “This $225 million in federal funding will enable 18 states to make vital upgrades to select bridges in rural areas,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. By law, the funds were rest...
MassDOT Awarded Federal Grant for South Station’s Tower 1 Interlocking
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation has been awarded a $41 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to upgrade and improve South Station’s Tower 1 interlocking, a key element which distributes trains to and from the station that is used by almost 60,000 rail passengers daily. Work being funded by this grant will include replacing the existing signal system, upgrading switches, track, and power systems, addressing settling that has occurred at switch points, and impr...
FEMA Gives Florida DOT $1.12M for Hurricane Cleanup
The Federal Emergency Management Agency issued more $1.12 million via its public assistance program to the Florida Department of Transportation on August 13 to cover the costs of collecting and disposing of debris left that clogged public rights-of-way in the wake of Hurricane Irma nearly two years ago. [Above photo from the Florida DOT.] Between October 18 and Dec. 16, 2018, the Florida DOT and its contractors gathered, hauled away and/or disposed of 34,778 cubic yards of vegetative debri...
DOE Disburses $59M for Advanced Vehicle Projects
The U.S. Department of Energy awarded 43 advanced vehicle technology research projects a combined total of $59 million in funding on August 16; projects focused on developing lithium-metal solid state batteries, new materials and designs for advanced electric motors, and the combination of new powertrain materials with new combustion regimes to significantly improve fuel economy. Under Secretary of Energy Mark Menezes noted in a statement that the “ultimate goals” of those projects – which ar...
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces $272 Million in ‘State of Good Repair’ Program Grants 10 projects in 10 states to receive funding
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today announced more than $272 million in grant funding to 10 rail projects in 10 states. Funding is provided through FRA’s Federal-State Partnership for State of Good Repair Program (SOGR Program) and will help to repair and rehabilitate railroad infrastructure around the country. “This Administration is committed to investing in the enhancement and safe operation of our country's passenger rail networ...