Biden Administration change in FTA funding policy could boost Gateway Project
The Biden Administration has reversed a Federal Transit Administration policy on funding that originated in the Trump Administration, increasing the prospects of the long-stalled Gateway Project to build new Hudson River tunnels to New York’s Penn Station. NJ.com reports the FTA said it would allow states to use U.S. government loans to cover their share of project funding, making it eligible for federal funds. New York and New Jersey had planned to use loads as part of their 50% share of Gateway funding, but in May 2018, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao said that proposal was not acceptable. Congress passed a law the next year reversing the prohibition on the use of loans, but the Department of Transportation continued to maintain the policy.
U.S. DOT seeks applicants for $859 million in INFRA grants
The U.S. Department of Transportation is seeking applicants for its fiscal 2021 Infrastructure for Rebuilding America, or INFRA, grant program. Approximately $859 million is available for projects of national and regional significance that will create good-paying jobs, improve safety, and explicitly address climate change and racial equality, among other criteria. “As we work to recover and emerge from this devastating pandemic stronger than before, now is the time to make lasting investments in our nation’s infrastructure,” Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said in a press release. Grants are available for both large projects (at least $25 million) and small projects (at least $5 million.) More information is available here.
SMART to spend $1.5 million in grants on infrastructure projects for freight service
Sonoma-Marin Area Rail Transit will begin work on two projects to prepare for the takeover of freight service on its route later this year, spending nearly $1.5 million in state grants to upgrade a bridge on repairs and additions to spurs to serve local industries. The Santa Rosa Press-Democrat reports private matching funds will cover the remainder of the projects. Work on the Black Point Bridge over the lower Petaluma River is expected to cost $400,000. About $2.5 million will go to work on the spurs. The work follows a 2020 buyout by the state of contract freight operator Northwestern Pacific, giving SMART total control over its route [see “Digest: Point Defiance Bypass service…,” Trains News Wire, Dec. 4, 2020].
