USDOT awards $1.8 billion in RAISE grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded $1.8 million in Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants for 148 projects across the country. The funding brings the total amount of RAISE grants to more than $7.2 billion for more than 550 projects across the country.  

The RAISE grants, which were authorized for $1.5 billion a year on top of already appropriated funds due to the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, 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.  

“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 USDOT 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.”  

USDOT notes 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.  

USDOT says it received almost $13 billion in requests for the $1.8 billion available in funding this year.  

Project selections include:  

• $10.2 million for the SPRINTER Corridor Service Improvement Project in San Diego County, Calif. – The project will fund preliminary engineering and environmental clearance for rail improvements to the easternmost portion of the SPRINTER rail corridor between Palomar College Station and the Escondido Transit Center. Improvements in the approximate seven-mile project area include planning for approximately 3.6 miles of double track, three new bridges, a new station platform and grade crossing improvements.
• $23.5 million 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.      
• $1.2 million for the Northeast Long-range Transportation Plan in Washington County, Colo.– The planning project will fund a Long-Range Transportation Plan for 17 local governments in Northeast Colorado, collectively known as the Northeast Colorado Association of Local Governments. The plan will follow guidance provided in USDOT's Model Long- Range Transportation Plans: A Guide for Incorporating Performance Based Planning. The project will also include an ADA transition plan using the Safe Systems Approach.
• $12 million for the Holloway Street: Safe Access to Durham’s Busiest Transit Route Project in Durham, N.C. – 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.  
• $25 million for the Santa Ana Boulevard Grade Separation Project in Santa Ana, Calif.– 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.
• $15 million for the Interborough Express Light-Rail Transit- Corridor Profile Planning Assessment in the city of New York, N.Y. – The project will prepare a Corridor Profile Planning Assessment for the Interborough Express (IBX) project. The IBX is a high-capacity light-rail transit link that would provide a critical direct public transit connection between the boroughs of Brooklyn and Queens in New York City.
• $25 million for the Columbia Operations Facility: Building A Regional Zero-emissions Bus Base in Portland, Ore. – The project will design and construct a facility to store, fuel and maintain TriMet's hydrogen fuel cell electric bus fleet.
• $25 million for the Regional Operations and Maintenance Facility and Transit Center in the city of Harrisburg, Pa. – The project will construct a new Compressed Natural Gas-compliant maintenance and operations transit facility for the Susquehanna Regional Transportation Authority. The project will also construct a new transfer center that includes approximately 16 bus berths, ticket and pass sale booths, real-time passenger information and canopies, seating and weather protection for passengers.

 The full list of projects being funded can be viewed here.