Investing in America: Biden-Harris Administration Announces $1.8 Billion in Infrastructure Grants Across the Country – CleanTechnica

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From improving road safety to revitalizing communities and creating economic opportunity, all 50 states, four territories, and the District of Columbia will receive RAISE grants this year from President Biden’s infrastructure law 

WASHINGTON — Today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced $1.8 billion in awards from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program for 148 projects across the country. Today’s announcement brings the total amount of Biden-Harris Administration RAISE grants to more than $7.2 billion for over 550 projects across the country.

“After decades of underinvestment, the condition of America’s infrastructure is now finally getting better instead of worse – and today we proudly announce our support for 148 more projects in communities of every size across the country,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re funding projects across the country to make roads safer, make it easier for people to move around their community, make transportation infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather, and improve supply chains to keep costs down for consumers.”

The competitive and popular RAISE program, which was authorized $1.5 billion a year on top of already appropriated funds thanks to President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, supports a diverse slate of communities with projects of local and regional significance. Funding is split equally between urban and rural areas, and a large percentage of grants support regions defined as historically disadvantaged or areas of persistent poverty. The eligibility requirements of RAISE allow project sponsors, including state and local governments, counties, Tribal governments, transit agencies, and port authorities, to pursue multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional projects that are more difficult to fund through other grant programs. RAISE discretionary grants invest in critical freight and passenger transportation infrastructure projects that would otherwise not receive the funding needed if not for President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

RAISE is a keystone program of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, rebuilding and repairing critical infrastructure using American-made materials and spurring historic levels of private sector investment in regions around the country. Investing in key transportation infrastructure initiatives through programs like RAISE is growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up, lowering costs for families, and creating good-paying, union jobs for American workers in their home communities.

As in years past, the demand for RAISE funding outpaced available funds, with the Department receiving almost $13 billion in requests for the $1.8 billion available this year.

Project selections include:

• $25,000,000 for the Alaska Highway Permafrost Degradation Restoration Project in Fairbanks, Alaska – The project will restore approximately 45 miles of the Alaska Highway impacted by thawing permafrost and other climate change-related degradation. The project maintains and improves the mobility and community connectivity for Alaskans by ensuring the only all-season overland corridor between Alaska and the lower 48 remains traversable. Safety will be improved for roadway users by addressing severe road conditions associated with the thawing permafrost. The improvements will also ensure the roadway remains resilient to future climate change.
• $23,529,000 for the Electrify Downeast Acadia Project in Washington, Penobscot, and Hancock Counties, Maine – The project will replace Downeast Transportation Inc.’s bus fleet with 24 electric buses and chargers, focusing on safety, environmental sustainability, economic competitiveness, and innovation. The project aligns with the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and implementing charging infrastructure.
• $20,704,712 for the Joe Louis Meets the Iron Belle: Connecting Communities in Detroit Project in Detroit, Michigan – The project will fund the construction of two shared-use paths in the Joe Louis Greenway and Iron Belle Trail systems. The improvements will be made on Woodmere Street and Dequindre Street, focusing on safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, mobility, economic competitiveness, and partnership. The project will address safety, reduce air pollution, and improve quality of life through more affordable transportation options and aims to address historic inequities caused by transportation infrastructure.
• $3,906,652 for the Browning Streets Community Connectivity Planning Project on the Blackfeet Reservation, Montana – The project will fund planning and design for reconstructing streets in Browning, taking a Complete Streets approach to addressing roadway safety and pedestrian issues. Planning efforts will seek to improve access to daily destinations while decreasing dependency on motor vehicles.
• $12,044,800 for the Holloway Street: Safe Access to Durham’s Busiest Transit Route Project in Durham, North Carolina – The project will improve 33 intersections, including ADA curb ramps and crosswalks, tighten curb radii, upgrade bus stop amenities, and close sidewalk gaps. It focuses on safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, mobility and community connectivity, economic competitiveness, partnership, collaboration, and innovation. The project aims to reduce fatalities and injuries, reduce conflicts, and improve connectivity for non-motorized travelers. It also aims to reduce community reliance on vehicular traffic, support electrification, and promote public health. The project also focuses on mobility and community connectivity, integrating ADA requirements and improving accessibility for no-motorized travelers.
• $25,000,000 for the Santa Ana Boulevard Grade Separation Project in Santa Ana, California – The project will fund the reconstruction of an existing rail crossing with the Southern California Regional Rail Authority Orange Line double tracks at Santa Ana Boulevard, adjacent to the Santa Ana Regional Transportation Center, with a new multimodal grade separated underpass. The reconstructed roadway will be reduced from six-lanes to four-lanes with on-street protected bikeways, sidewalks, and a pedestrian overcrossing is included that parallels the rail line. Additionally, the project will include connection to the future Golden Loop trail system, with 17.5 miles of planned trail improvements for access to the wider Santa Ana trail and recreational park network. Also, the project will eliminate vehicle idling when the at-grade crossing is closed, thereby improving air quality for the surrounding communities.
• $22,930,000 for the Lake Wales Complete Streets Project in Lake Wales, Florida – The project will fund the Complete Streets redevelopment of four road segments in Lake Wales: 1st Street, Central Avenue, A Street, and Lincoln Avenue. Enhancements include a road diet, a separated cycle track, expanded ADA accessible sidewalks, safety enhancements at crosswalks and railroad crossings, increased shade tree canopy cover and rain gardens, lighting, underground high-speed fiber and streetlight power sources, and streetscaping. The project will protect non-motorized travelers from safety risks by implementing a road diet to reduce vehicle speeds, adding separated cycle tracks, buffering sidewalks, improving crosswalks, and upgrading lighting for improved visibility. The project will create a more affordable active transportation network that improves public health and connects the downtown and the commercial area of the Northwest Neighborhood.
• $19,108,645 for the Reconnect Toledo’s Historic Neighborhoods Project in Toledo, Ohio – The project will construct approximately 4,184 feet of a one-mile multi-use path as part of the Glass City Riverwalk project. This project provides for an off-road, shared-use facility that will allow cyclists and pedestrians to travel a safe distance away from vehicles, reducing the number of accidents. The project also addresses the disproportionately negative environmental impacts of transportation on local communities by reducing exposure to elevated levels of air, water, and noise pollution, while improving the resilience of at-risk infrastructure against extreme weather events and natural disasters caused by climate change.
• $24,944,683 for the Reconnecting the Allegheny Riverfront to Economic Opportunity Project in the Borough of Sharpsburg, Pennsylvania – The project will plan, design, and construct an approximately 300-foot bridge over the Conemaugh rail line, construct additional roadway that connects to the riverfront district, construct multi-use trail on the shoreline of the river, and improvements to approximately 6 bus stops along Main Street. The project will also protect non-motorized travelers from safety risks through the construction of sidewalks and rail crossing where there currently are none. This project will assist the Borough of Sharpsburg’s goal to make the corridor environmentally friendly by supporting active and public transit and to be carbon neutral by 2050.
• $21,224,804 for the Wharf D Reconstruction and Resiliency Project in San Juan County, Puerto Rico – The project will plan, design, and reconstruct Wharf D of the Puerto Nuevo Docks. A goal of the project is to significantly improve safe working conditions and quality of life for terminal workers. By reconstructing Wharf D, health benefits for employees and the surrounding communities will be prioritized as workers will reap the benefits of operational efficiencies and all members of the community will experience a decrease in emissions caused by idling vessels.

The full list of projects can be viewed HERE.

The RAISE program is one of several competitive grant programs providing funding to communities across the country under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. To date across the Biden-Harris Administration, nearly $454 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding has been announced to more than 57,000 specific projects in all 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories.

For more information on the RAISE program, click HERE.

For more on the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s investments across America, including state-by-state, click HERE.

Courtesy of U.S. Department of Transportation