Yesterday, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced that the Biden Administration has awarded $645.3 million from the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (Rural). The funds will complete transportation projects that will increase mobility, improve safety, and generate regional economic growth in rural areas.
"Rural communities face some of the toughest transportation challenges, yet are often left out of major federal investments, a pattern that we are changing that under President Biden’s leadership,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The grants we’re announcing today will make transportation in rural communities better, safer, and more reliable.”
The Rural Program plans to repair and improve rural transportation systems. This year’s selected projects include:
- San Juan County, New Mexico: $59.8 million for US 64 Corridor Improvements: This project will improve access for residents to travel to school, jobs, medical treatment, shopping, and more. The project will widen and rehabilitate approximately 21 miles of the US 64 Corridor and replace four bridges, install fiber optic and cable, and approximately 50 corrugated metal culverts along the corridor.
- $360,378 for the PICK 2.0 project in the state of Oklahoma: This project will expand microtransit services to rural and Tribal communities in Oklahoma by offering shared curb-to-curb on-demand rides.
- $27.7 million for the Northern Maine US 1 Road Improvement Project in Aroostook County, Maine: This project will reconstruct two sections of US 1 near Frenchville. It will primarily improve access to services, including the regional hospital and university in Fort Kent. The reconstructed road, with improved stormwater runoff infrastructure, will be able to withstand more frequent heavy rain events and freeze-thaw cycles, which have been degrading the pavement at an increasing rate.
Applications were evaluated based on multiple criteria, including project readiness, cost-effectiveness, and whether the project supported critical goals like enhancing safety, increasing mobility and reliability, improving resiliency and restoring infrastructure to a state of good repair.
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Source: USDOT
