Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx announced on Sept. 7 that almost $800 million in inaugural FASTLANE federal grants has been awarded to 18 transportation infrastructure projects in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

In a call with reporters, Secretary Foxx said the grants will be combined with other funding from federal, state, local, and private sources “to support $3.6 billion in infrastructure investment.”

The FASTLANE grant program was established by the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act highway bill passed late last year.

The program is administered by DOT’s newly launched Build America Bureau. Per DOT, the bureau will streamline credit and grant opportunities while providing technical assistance and encouraging best practices in project planning, financing, delivery, and monitoring of transportation infrastructure projects.

“The FAST Act gave us a set of tools to begin addressing America’s infrastructure deficit, and we have been moving full speed ahead to get critical road, rail, and port projects off the ground across the country,” said Foxx.  “From eliminating traffic bottlenecks and enhancing port capacity to overhauling a major freight corridor, the 18 inaugural FASTLANE grants will enable people and goods to move more efficiently.”

Among the projects that are receiving grants through the inaugural batch of FASTLANE awards are:

• The Atlantic Gateway project in Virginia is a corridor approach to improving mobility across the Eastern seaboard. Combining a $165 million FASTLANE grant with public and private funding from multiple partners, DOT said it will improve and expand key segments of the corridor.

• The Oklahoma Department of Transportation will be awarded $62 million to improve safety and efficiency of high-volume freight traffic along the US 69/75 corridor in southern Oklahoma. The project will implement grade separations, remove railroad/local street crossing conflicts, and increase speeds to increase mobility.  

• The ArizonaDepartment of Transportation will be awarded $54 million for bottleneck improvements along I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. To increase driver safety, new dust storm early warning technology will also be installed along I-10.

• The Maine Department of Transportation will be awarded $7 million to improve the infrastructure, equipment, and technology at the Port of Portland. With improvements to the access and connectivity, the Port upgrades will replace truck shipments from Canada via congested interstates.

Foxx said that FASTLANE grant recipients were selected through a review process to identify projects that will have “significant regional and national impacts by reducing congestion, expanding capacity, using innovative technology, improving safety, or moving freight more efficiently.”

FASTLANE grants will address many of the challenges outlined in DOT’s Beyond Traffic report, including increased congestion on the nation’s highways and the need for a strong multimodal transportation system to support the expected growth in freight movement both by ton and value, Foxx noted. 

DOT said it awarded these 18 Fiscal Year 2016 grants, in the amounts noted, to the following entities to make improvements to:

Interstate 10 Phoenix to Tucson Improvements Arizona Department of Transportation Pinal County, Arizona, Rural Amount: $54,000,000

SR-11 Segment 2 and Southbound Connectors California Department of Transportation and San Diego Association of Governments San Diego County, California, Urban Proposed Grant Amount: $49,280,000

Arlington Memorial Bridge Reconstruction Project National Park Service and District of Columbia Department of Transportation District of Columbia, Urban Amount: $90,000,000

Port of Savannah International Multi-Modal Connector Georgia Ports Authority Savannah, Georgia, Urban Amount: $44,000,000

I-10 Freight Corridor Rehabilitation and Expansion (CoRE) Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development Lafayette, Louisiana, Rural Amount: $60,000,000

Conley Terminal Intermodal Improvements and Modernization Massachusetts Port Authority (MASSPORT) Boston, Massachusetts, Urban Amount: $42,000,000

I-390/I-490/Route 31 Interchange, Lyell Avenue Corridor Project New York State Department of Transportation Town of Gates, New York, Urban Amount: $32,000,000

US 69/75 Bryan County Oklahoma Department of Transportation Calera, Oklahoma, Rural Amount: $62,000,000

Atlantic Gateway: Partnering to Unlock the I-95 Corridor Virginia Department of Transportation Commonwealth of Virginia, Urban Amount: $165,000,000

South Lander Street Grade Separation and Railroad Safety Project City of Seattle Seattle, Washington, Urban Amount: $45,000,000

I/39/90 Corridor Project Wisconsin Department of Transportation Janesville, Wisconsin, Rural Amount: $40,000,000

Truck Parking Availability Systems Florida Department of Transportation State of Florida, Rural (Small Project) Amount: $10,778,237

Cedar Rapids Logistics Park Iowa Department of Transportation Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Rural (Small Project) Amount: $25,650,000

U.S. 95 North Corridor Access Improvement Project Idaho Department of Transportation Kootenai County, Idaho, Rural (Small Project) Amount: $5,100,000

Maine Intermodal Port Productivity Project Maine Department of Transportation Portland, Maine, Rural (Small Project) Amount: $7,719,173

Cross Harbor Freight Program Port Authority of New York and New Jersey Jersey City, New Jersey and New York, New York, Urban (Small Project) Amount: $10,672,590

Coos Bay Rail Line – Tunnel Rehabilitation Project Oregon International Port of Coos Bay Lane, Douglas, and Coos Counties, Oregon, Rural (Small Project) Amount: $11,000,000

Strander Boulevard Extension and Grade Separation Phase 3 City of Tukwila, Washington City of Tukwila, Washington, Urban (Small Project) Amount: $5,000,000