2023 RAISE AND INFRA GRANTS

[mvak36]

It appears that the RAISE Awards are about to be announced. I've posted some of the articles but I'll just post the final list once USDOT does their press release.

Washington: 1
Tennessee: 1
North Carolina: 1
Montana: 1
Arizona: 1

[mvak36]

https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/biden-harris-administration-announces-funding-162-community-led-infrastructure

ORANGEBURG, SC — Today, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg will join Assistant Democratic Leader Jim Clyburn and others in South Carolina to announce that the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded more than $2.2 billion from the RAISE discretionary grant program to 162 different infrastructure projects across the country. Today's funding includes a nearly $23 million grant to build a pedestrian bridge and a multi-modal transit hub to better connect neighborhoods and college campuses to downtown Orangeburg, South Carolina.

The RAISE grant program, expanded under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supports communities of all sizes, with half of the FY2023 funding going to rural areas and the other half to urban areas. The grants are part of President Biden's Investing in America agenda that is growing the American economy from the bottom up and middle-out–from rebuilding our nation's infrastructure, to driving nearly $500  billion in private sector manufacturing and clean energy investments in the United States, to creating good-paying jobs and building a clean-energy economy that will combat climate change and make our communities more resilient. 

"Using the funds in President Biden's infrastructure law, we are helping communities in every state across the country realize their visions for new infrastructure projects,"  said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "This round of RAISE grants is helping create a new generation of good-paying jobs in rural and urban communities alike, with projects whose benefits will include improving safety, fighting climate change, advancing equity, strengthening our supply chain, and more."    

This year's awarded projects will help more people get where they need to be quickly, affordably, and safely. From projects that will strengthen supply chains and reduce bottlenecks, to bridge replacements and road projects to make them safer and more efficient for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians, this year's awards will build and repair infrastructure that benefits Americans for future generations to come, while taking steps to reduce emissions from the transportation sector and support wealth creation and good-paying union jobs. Seventy percent of the grants are going to projects in regions defined as an Area of Persistent Poverty or a Historically Disadvantaged Community.

Like last year, demand for RAISE funding was higher than available funds. This year, DOT received $15 billion in requests for the $2.26 billion available.

Today's awardees include:

    Chula Vista, California: Palomar Street Grade Separation Project: $21.5 million to eliminate a rail crossing that causes frequent delays for drivers and been the site of 85 crashes over a 10-year period. Project also separates Palomar Street from the rail corridor, making it safer for people who walk, bike, and roll.
    Iowa: Rebuilding Bridges: $24.7 million grant to replace up to 9 bridges in poor condition in rural counties. Some bridges are weight-restricted and currently force detours for both residents and commercial truck drivers.
    Eudora, Kansas: Church Street Community Connectivity and Multimodal Enhancements Project. $21 million grant to fix Church Street between 20th and 28th Street near schools, converting a two-lane road into three lanes with a center turn lane and new shared-use paths. Also realigns an intersection, installs a roundabout and adds new stormwater infrastructure.
    Jackson, Kentucky: Panbowl Lake Corridor Project: $21 million grant to make improvements to KY 15, the main artery through town, and strengthen an earthen dam that helps protect community from catastrophic flooding. Jackson was the site of historic, deadly flooding in recent years.
    New Orleans, Louisiana: New Orleans Downtown Transit Center and Connecting Corridors: $24.8 million grant to construct a Downtown Transit Center for the city's bus and streetcar network and make safety improvements at intersections with a history of pedestrian-involved crashes.
    North Bergen, New Jersey: Tonnelle Avenue Bridge and Utility Relocation Project: $25 million grant to relocate and construct a new, approximately 100-foot road bridge to carry Tonnelle Avenue over a new railroad right-of-way for the new Hudson River Trunnel in North Bergen.
    Standing Rock, South Dakota: Route 6 Reconstruction and Preservation: $18.5 million grant to resurface BIA 6 on the Standing Rock Indian Reservation, addressing a road with higher than average roadway injuries and deaths.
    Caldwell County, Texas: SH 130 Advanced Commercial Truck Travel Plaza: $22.9 million grant to design and construct a truck parking plaza that improves safety and convenience for truck drivers. Plaza will include short- and long-term spaces with lighting, fencing, restroom and shower facilities, with 24-hour monitored security.

The full list of projects can be viewed here.

RAISE discretionary grants help project sponsors at the State and local levels, including municipalities, Tribal governments, counties, and others complete critical freight and passenger transportation infrastructure projects that they may not have had the funding to carry out prior to passage of President Biden's infrastructure law. The eligibility requirements of RAISE allow project sponsors to obtain funding for projects that are harder to support through other U.S. DOT grant programs.

The RAISE program is one of several ways communities can secure funding for projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's competitive grant programs. This week, the Federal Transit Administration announced early $1.7 billion in funding through the agency's Low or No Emission Vehicle Program, which puts more zero-emission and low-emission buses on the road while supporting workforce training on new vehicle technologies.

Earlier this week, the Department also published the 2023 Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant (MPDG) Program: a three-in-one grant opportunity for communities interested in funding made available through the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) discretionary grant program, the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (Rural), and the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program.

For more information on the RAISE program, click HERE.

Fact Sheets: https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2023-06/RAISE%202023%20Fact%20Sheets_0.pdf

[mvak36]

From a quick look at the project list, a few road projects that were awarded:

$8.5 million to AZ for US95 Safety improvements
$20 million to Lakewood, CO for replacing the US6/Wadsworth Blvd interchange
$13 million for the design of the I-80/I-25 interchange in Cheyenne, WY.
$22,942,500 to Caldwell County, Tx for a Commercial Truck Travel Plaza on SH130
$15 million to Wisconsin DOT for bridge and pavement rehabiltation on a section of I-41 north of the zoo.

[mvak36]

They've released the list of projects that were awarded the Rural grant:

https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2023-12/Rural%20Fact%20Sheets%20FY%202023_2024.pdf

https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/biden-harris-administration-announces-645-million-help-meet-rural-transportation-and

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded $645.3 million from the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (Rural) to help communities around the United States complete transportation projects that will increase mobility, improve safety, and generate regional economic growth in rural areas.

Rural roads face a disproportionally high rate of fatalities, and a significant proportion of rural roads and bridges are in poor condition. Today's awards will improve the safety and reliability of movement of people and freight, as well as improve quality of life for rural residents, through investment in critical roads, bridges, and other transportation systems. 

The Rural Program represents a keystone of the Administration's commitment to repairing and improving rural transportation systems. President Biden's infrastructure law made more than $44 billion available to help rural communities repair and improve their roads, bridges, airports, ports, and transit systems.

"Rural communities face some of the toughest transportation challenges, yet are often left out of major federal investments, a pattern that we are changing that under President Biden's leadership," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "The grants we're announcing today will make transportation in rural communities better, safer, and more reliable."

This year's selected projects include: 
   

     
• Millen, Georgia: $12 million for the Millen Rail Crossing: This project will implement three grade-separated rail crossings in Millen, Georgia to improve both residential and freight mobility in the area. This project will improve residents' daily access to local schools, employment centers and social services while minimizing delays, as east-west travel is currently impeded by about10 trains a day, many of increasing length from the Port of Savannah. Intermodal freight mobility in the area will be improved as trucks cannot use the existing overpass. Additionally, the construction of these grade-separated crossings will allow for improved safety and reduce opportunities for trespassing.
• San Juan County, New Mexico: $59.8 million for US 64 Corridor Improvements:  This project, located entirely within the traditional lands of the Navajo Nation, will improve access for residents to travel to school, jobs, medical treatment, shopping and more. The project will widen and rehabilitate approximately 21 miles of the US 64 Corridor and replace four bridges, install fiber optic and cable, and approximately 50 corrugated metal culverts along the corridor.
• $360,378 for the PICK 2.0 project in the state of Oklahoma: This project will expand microtransit services to rural and Tribal communities in Oklahoma by offering shared curb-to-curb on-demand rides. The project will have direct benefits for individuals living in rural and Tribal communities who may be transit-dependent.
• $27.7 million for the Northern Maine US 1 Road Improvement Project in Aroostook County, Maine: This project will reconstruct two sections of US 1 near Frenchville. It will primarily improve access to services, including the regional hospital and university in Fort Kent. By modernizing the road segments, the project will significantly lower long-term maintenance costs and better accommodate pedestrians and bicyclists on this designated U.S. Bicycle Route. The reconstructed road, with improved stormwater runoff infrastructure, will be able to withstand more frequent heavy rain events and freeze-thaw cycles, which have been degrading the pavement at an increasing rate.

...

This is the second year for the Rural Program, which thanks to President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests a total of approximately $2 billion through 2026 for projects that improve highways, bridges, and tunnels, address highway safety, increase access to agricultural, commercial, energy, or freight facilities, and bring flexible transit services to rural and Tribal areas. The Rural Program continues to be significantly oversubscribed, with more than $7.4 billion in requests from 174 applicants competing for the $645 million in available funding this round.

Applications were evaluated based on multiple criteria, including project readiness, cost-effectiveness, and whether the project supported critical goals like enhancing safety, increasing mobility and reliability, improving resiliency and restoring infrastructure to a state of good repair.

...

USDOT expects to announce the recipients of this round of INFRA and Mega funding early next year.

[Revive 755]

IL 9 through Bloomington is "rural"?  And that one on I-380 on the edge of Cedar Rapids also seems like a very questionable pick for a "rural" grant (not that I-380 couldn't use another lane).

[epzik8]

As someone who's been through North Carolina countless times going to and from Myrtle Beach, it's great to see them massively flip their infrastructure and get the funding they need to do so.

[mvak36]

Looks like the INFRA grant awards announcements are slowly rolling out. I know there have been some already mentioned in other threads over the past month, but I'll post whatever I can find. I apologize if some of these have already been posted in other threads. I'll try to link to the threads if I can find them.

Iowa: 1
Louisiana: 1, 2

Minnesota/WI (Not sure if this is part of MEGA/INFRA): https://www.aaroads.com/forum/index.php?topic=31820.msg2900825#msg2900825
Washington: 1
Indiana: 1
Massachusetts: 1

[mvak36]

They've posted the MEGA and INFRA grant awards.

MEGA: https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2024-01/MEGA%20Fact%20Sheets%20FY%202023-2024_Final.pdf
INFRA: https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2024-01/INFRA%20Fact%20Sheets%20FY%202023-2024_Final_0.pdf

[Revive 755]

They've posted the MEGA and INFRA grant awards.

MEGA: https://www.transportation.gov/sites/dot.gov/files/2024-01/MEGA%20Fact%20Sheets%20FY%202023-2024_Final.pdf

The dot for the Borman FlexRoad project is located around Indianapolis on the cover page.

[jeffandnicole]

I'm a little confused at the Infra project for the Packer Avenue Marine Terminal, as shown on Page 26 of the PDF.  It appears the new bridge will go under the Walt Whitman Bridge, over a wide inlet.  The description claims include avoiding diversion of trucks to local streets, safety benefits to the surrounding community, and provide a "well-lit pedestrian pathway".   The area they circled is a mile away from the nearest home as the crow flies, is fully within an industrial area, and the local streets are a 4 lane lightly used roadway that ultimately connects the stadium complex with businesses further down the roadway along with a 4 lane roadway in which parked cars take up the right lane (https://maps.app.goo.gl/NqH5x2PVVezeDU4a9).  The traffic light entering the complex was turned off in the 2019 GSV, and the lights removed in the 2022 GSV (https://maps.app.goo.gl/boSCGhZtop73q6w57).

Overall site area: https://maps.app.goo.gl/VyzsLK96nmNTnugMA

[mvak36]

https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/biden-harris-administration-announces-49-billion-funding-transformational

WASHINGTON – Today, President Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced more than $4.9 billion in funding from President Biden's Investing in America agenda to 37 projects through two major discretionary grant programs, the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) grant program and the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program.

The Mega program, which was created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and provides $5 billion in funding through 2026, is focused on projects that are uniquely large, complex and difficult to fund under traditional grant programs. For this round of funding, the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in 11 different projects that will generate national and regional economic, mobility, and safety benefits.   

The INFRA program, for which funding was increased more than 50% by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, also funds large scale, transformational infrastructure projects — for this round of funding the Biden-Harris Administration is investing in 28 projects that will improve the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of freight and people in and across rural and urban areas. Over half of the projects being funded through the INFRA program are in rural communities.

Two projects received awards from both programs, following through on the Department's commitment to invest in non-traditional, multimodal projects that have been neglected because of complications around how to fund them. 

"With this announcement, we are advancing projects so large, complex, and ambitious that they could not get funded under the infrastructure programs that existed prior to the Biden administration," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "Our INFRA and Mega programs are helping build the cathedrals of American infrastructure: truly transformative projects that will change entire regions and our entire country for the better."   

Some of the selected Mega projects for this round include: 

• $600 million to the Interstate Bridge Replacement Program between Portland, Oregon and Vancouver, Washington. The project will update Interstate 5—a critically important north-south route-- with a seismically resilient replacement of the I-5 bridge over the Columbia River. This update will make the bridge more resilient and better able to handle future challenges, including correcting structural weaknesses, seismic risks, and congestion issues, which currently occur regularly and impede both commuters and freight trucks. The bridge will be designed with specialized lanes for public and commercial travel. Additionally, the new bridge will offer accessible and affordable transportation options such as bus lanes, pedestrian walkways, bike lanes, and a light rail system to promote sustainable transportation.
• $142 million to the Eastern Pittsburgh Multimodal Corridor Project. The project will make multimodal improvements in the I-376 (Parkway East) corridor of Pittsburgh. The project will include resiliency improvements and reduce costly recurring maintenance by addressing a flood-prone area known as the "Bathtub" segment and landslides that often force emergency road closures. The project will also improve traffic management through dynamic lane use, dynamic speed limits, wrong way vehicle detection, and queue warning systems that are expected to reduce the higher-than-average crashes on the Parkway East in the project area.
• $371 million to the Sagamore Bridge Project. The project will restore and modernize the nearly 90-year-old Sagamore Bridge in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, which is currently considered functionally obsolete and structurally deficient. The project includes the design and construction of the bridge and approaches, improvements to local roadway connections, and major utility relocation. Replacing the bridge will ensure the infrastructure meets modern structural design criteria, including consideration of climate change, seismic effects and safety benefits.
• $130 million to the St. Lucie River Railroad Bridge Replacement Project. The project will replace the existing 100-year-old St. Lucie River Railroad Bridge in Florida with a new double-track structure with significantly improved clearance. The project addresses increasing conflicts between maritime needs for longer or more frequent bridge openings and rail needs for shorter and less frequent bridge closings. The project supports both freight and passenger rail, with the new Brightline rail service between Orlando and South Florida expected to add 32 bridge crossings daily, while also decreasing the potential for blocked grade crossings and vehicle collisions.

Some of the additional selected INFRA projects for this round include:

• $1 billion to the Blatnik Bridge Replacement Project in Duluth, Minnesota and Superior, Wisconsin -- This project will replace the Blatnik Bridge, a major connection between the cities of Duluth, Minnesota, and Superior, Wisconsin, that without this project is at risk of closing within the next ten years due to decaying infrastructure. The updates will help prevent fatalities and serious injuries that are seven to ten times higher than the state averages, and improve employment access for approximately 6,000 daily commuters. Additionally, the new bridge will alleviate current load restrictions and ease lengthy detours that regional freight currently experiences. In addition to other economic benefits, the MnDOT has developed a contract with the Duluth Workforce Center for outreach to groups underrepresented in the heavy construction trades, while also leveraging its workforce development program with Duluth Public Schools, which will create good-paying, union jobs within the area.
• $17 million to the ARRC Bridge Replacement in Fairbanks, Alaska. The project will replace an aging railroad bridge that crosses the Chena River at Fort Wainwright in Fairbanks, Alaska. The bridge is part of Alaska Railroad Corporation's (ARRC) Eielson Branch, which links ARRC's main line at Fairbanks with Fort Wainwright and Eielson Air Force Base. The project will restore and modernize the bridge, shorten the bridge, and bring the bridge up to railroad industry standards. The project will also reduce emissions due to avoided truck miles from cargo diversions and improve the transportation of bulk goods and intermodal shipments by rail.
• $81 million to Completing the I-95 Missing Move and Ramps to Quonset Business Park in Kent and Washington Counties, Rhode Island. The project will complete gaps between Interstate 95 and RI-4 to create a direct freeway connection and remove traffic from local roads. The project will construct three ramps to service RI Route 403, expanding access to Quonset Business Park. These improvements will alleviate congested freight and non-freight traffic from local roads and provide direct access to major roadways, strengthening accessibility for rural communities.

The two projects that received funding from both the Mega and INFRA program are:

• $300 million to the Port of New Orleans for a new International Container Terminal in Louisiana. The new terminal will be an alternative to terminals located farther inland on the Mississippi River, which cannot accommodate larger vessels. It will be fully outfitted with a 1,700-foot wharf, an automated stacking crane yard, utilities, operations buildings, gates, and an intermodal rail yard. The project is receiving approximately $74 million in Mega funds and $226 million in INFRA funds.
• $66,421,000 for the Mineral County I-90 Improvement Project in Montana. The project will rehabilitate aging infrastructure on I-90 between the Idaho-Montana state border and the town of Alberton, improving pavement conditions to withstand harsh weather and replacing the Alberton Bridge structures on westbound I-90. The project is receiving approximately $32 million in Mega funds and $34 million in INFRA funds.

View the full list of Mega and, as well as INFRA awards can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/grants/mpdg-program. Rural awards announced in December of 2023. Applicants for Mega, INFRA and Rural were evaluated under the Department's streamlined Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant (MPDG) application, a combined application designed to reduce the administrative burden of applying for grants that allowed applicants to apply for all three programs with the same application.

As with last year's awards, despite these historic increases in funding, these programs were significantly oversubscribed. The Department received 117 applications requesting $24.7 billion in Mega funding and 190 applications requesting $24.8 billion from the INFRA program, far exceeding the amounts of funding available.

Applications for the MPDG grants were evaluated based on the criteria published in the Notice of Funding Opportunity last summer. The criteria include safety; state of good repair; economic impacts, freight movements and job creation; climate change, resilience, and the environment; equity, multimodal options and quality of life; and innovation areas such as technology, project delivery, and financing. The Department also considered cost effectiveness and project readiness in evaluating the more than 300 MPDG applications received.

More information about the combined MPDG funding opportunity and Mega, INFRA, and Rural programs HERE. The next application period is expected to open in mid-2024.

[mvak36]

I'm not sure if I've posted this before but in 2022 there were projects awarded for Bridge Investment Programs. The whole list is located at: https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/bip/recipients/index.cfm.

Bridge Grant
Large Bridge Grant
Planning Grant

They have put out a Notice of Funding Opportunity for FY 2023 through 2026 Bridge Project grants at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/bip/ so I think there will be more bridge projects announced this year.