Federal transportation grants totaling nearly $800 million are expected to leverage additional federal, state, local and private funding to support $3.6 billion in infrastructure investment in the United States. U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx this week announced the first round of funding from the FASTLANE federal grant program toward 18 urban and rural road, rail and port projects throughout the country. These projects will result in millions of dollars in government contracting opportunities, offer opportunities for collaboration between public and private-sector partners and create jobs for Americans.
The FASTLANE program is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Build America Bureau, which is designed to expand the use of federal transportation credit programs, encourage innovation in project development and funding options and provide technical and financial assistance to help deliver public transportation projects more effectively and efficiently nationwide.
The projects receiving grants will reduce traffic congestion, expand capacity, improve safety, implement innovative technology and increase efficiency, according to Foxx.
The largest grant will go to the Virginia Department of Transportation (DOT). FASTLANE funding of $165 million will support the Atlantic Gateway Project. Multiple partners will also invest in this project that includes rail, highway and bridge projects to improve mobility and increase safety for travel on the East Coast.
The $1.4 billion public-private partnership includes the $165 million FASTLANE funding, $710 million in other public funding and $565 million in private-sector investment.
A sampling of other the projects that will receive FASTLANE funding includes:
- Arizona DOT – $54 million – The project includes widening two four-mile sections of I-10 in Pinal County to three lanes in each direction. Collectively, the projects will include new bridge construction, drainage, traffic signals, lighting and construction of auxiliary lanes. Safety issues will be addressed through installation of dust storm early warning technology.
- National Park Service and District of Columbia DOT – $90 million – This funding will support Phase 1 of reconstruction of the Arlington Memorial Bridge.
- Louisiana DOT and Development Lafayette, Louisiana – $60 million – The grant funds will support a freight corridor rehabilitation and expansion project to replace pavement and add an additional lane on I-10 in Lafayette between the I-10 and I-49 interchange and the Atchafalaya Floodway Bridge. Ten miles of the west and east segments of the corridor will be included.
- Massachusetts Port Authority – $42 million – This project includes improvement of facilities and structures of the Paul W. Conley Terminal in the Port of Boston. Port Berth 11 will be deepened, strengthened and undergo repairs, Berth 12 will get fender improvements and backland pavement and there will be overall refrigerated container storage improvements and new gate facilities construction.
- Florida DOT – $10.7 million – The grant funds will be used to install an Intelligent Transportation System that will detect available truck parking at nearly 75 public facilities and some private locations throughout the Florida Interstate System and relay that information to truck drivers in real time.
The nation is woefully short of funding for long-overdue transportation infrastructure projects that can not only significantly improve travel and safety, but also stimulate economic growth. Private-sector firms should watch closely for the multitude of government contracting and collaboration opportunities in the projects funded by these grants and the additional dollars they will leverage.