Build America Bureau awards infrastructure grants to 18 projects in 15 states and the District of Columbia

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced 18 infrastructure projects across the country that will receive federal grants as part of the new Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) program.

The grants, totaling nearly $800 million, will be combined with other funding from federal, state, local, and private sources to support $3.6 billion in infrastructure investment in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

“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 Secretary 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.”

On Wednesday afternoon, Secretary Foxx was joined by Seattle Mayor Ed Murray and Massachusetts Transportation Secretary Stephanie Pollack on a national call with reporters to highlight the new FASTLANE grant awards. A few examples of this year’s FASTLANE awards include:

• In Virginia, the Atlantic Gateway project 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, it improves and expands 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 Arizona Department 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.

The FASTLANE grant program was established as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and is administered by the newly-launched Build America Bureau (The Bureau) at the Department of Transportation (USDOT). The Bureau will drive transportation infrastructure development projects in the United States by streamlining credit and grant opportunities while providing technical assistance and encouraging innovative best practices in project planning, financing, delivery, and monitoring.

“The Build America Bureau brings together FASTLANE grants, credit programs like TIFIA and RRIF, and technical support into a one-stop-shop designed to get infrastructure projects funded and built,” said Andrew Right, Acting Director of the Build America Bureau.

FASTLANE grant recipients were selected through a thorough review process at the Department of Transportation 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 the USDOT report Beyond Traffic, 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.  is the grant awards are also in line with the Department’s draft National Freight Strategic Plan released in October 2015, which looks at challenges and identifies strategies to address impediments to the efficient flow of goods throughout the nation.

For more information about FASTLANE grants, visit www.transportation.gov/FASTLANEgrants.

The USDOT awarded Fiscal Year 2016 grants in the amounts below 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