USDOT awards $273.9 million in grants through the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded $273.9 million to 12 projects to improve and expand transportation infrastructure in rural areas. The funding is provided through the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program, which was established through the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and will provide $2 billion through 2026 for rural infrastructure projects.

The program supports projects that improve highways, bridges and tunnels, address highway safety, increase access to agricultural, commercial, energy or freight facilities that support the economy and bring flexible transit services to rural and Tribal areas. USDOT reports the 2022 funding opportunity generated $10 billion in funding requests.

“Infrastructure investments haven’t always reached rural America, leaving far too many roads, bridges and other parts of the transportation system across our country in disrepair,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “[This funding] is one of many ways this administration is delivering the investments that rural communities have gone without for far too long, modernizing transportation, creating economic opportunity and making life better for millions of people.”

The projects receiving grants will build new roads and bridges, as well as improve safety through enhanced active transportation elements such as sidewalks.

Two mass mobility related projects to receive grants include the Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (Louisiana DOT&D) for ferry design and construction and North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) for an on-demand transit program.

Louisiana DOT&D will use its $25 million grant to design and construct two ferry boats to provide access across the Mississippi River between Highway 23 and Highway 39 at Pointe a la Hache and between Belle Chasse and Scarsdale in Plaquemines Parish. The second ferry will provide access across the Calcasieu Ship Channel in Cameron Parish.

The two additional ferries will deliver consistent and reliable ferry service to the region, as well as reduce down time, operations and maintenance costs and improve safety and time savings.

In North Carolina, NCDOT will use its $10.4 million grant to expand on-demand transit services for up to 11 rural communities across the state through its Mobility for Everyone, Everywhere in North Carolina initiative.

NCDOT says the money will be distributed to expand on-demand transit services for people in Alamance, McDowell, Johnston, Randolph and Rockingham counties, as well as Sanford, Salisbury and Wilson. Other regional community organizations that will benefit include Kerr Area Regional Transit, Tar River Transit and Wave Transit in Wilmington.

The funding will pay for advanced transit scheduling software deployment and, in some communities, third-party contracts for vehicles and drivers to support the new on-demand services.

The project will encourage pooled transit trips to reduce emissions, reduce wait times and improve travel time reliability in rural areas and extend the useful life of transit vehicles and equipment. It will also further NCDOT’s goal of creating an interdependent multi-modal transportation network that safely accommodates all users.

“More than one million people in North Carolina live in a household without a car or have other barriers limiting their access to reliable transportation,” said Ryan Brumfield, director of the Division of Integrated Mobility, a unit in the NCDOT. “By expanding on-demand transit services, we take an important step to remove barriers for these individuals. Having a more robust network of multimodal services will connect people to the jobs, educational opportunities, appointments and shopping they need for their daily lives.”