DOT says FASTLane grants support $3.6b worth in infrastructure

The U.S. Department of Transportation said the 18 infrastructure project grants awarded in fiscal year 2016 – collectively valued at nearly $800 million – will support $3.6 billion in infrastructure across 15 states and the District of Columbia.    The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) on Wednesday said the combination of 18 infrastructure project grants awarded in fiscal year 2016 – collectively valued at nearly $800 million – will support $3.6 billion in infrastructure across 15 states and the District of Columbia.
   The DOT grants are part of the new Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLane) program and are administered by the DOT’s newly-launched Build America Bureau.
   “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 Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx in a statement.
   The Build America Bureau supports U.S. transportation infrastructure development projects by “streamlining credit and grant opportunities while providing technical assistance and encouraging innovative best practices in project planning, financing, delivery and monitoring,” DOT said.
   The largest grant – at $165 million – was issued to the Virginia DOT for its Atlantic Gateway project, a corridor approach to improving mobility across the Eastern seaboard.
   Some of the other grants include:
     • The Georgia Port Authority receiving $44 million for its Port of Savannah international multimodal connector project;
     • The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development receiving $60 million for its Interstate 10 Freight Corridor Rehabilitation and Expansion (CoRE);
     • The Massachusetts Port Authority receiving $42 million for its Conley Terminal intermodal improvements and modernization;
     • The City of Seattle receiving $45 million for its South Lander Street grade separation and railroad safety project;
     • The Port of New York and New Jersey receiving about $10.6 million for its Cross Harbor Freight Program;
     • And Oregon’s International Port of Coos Bay receiving $11 million for its Coos Bay Rail Line tunnel rehabilitation project.
   American Shipper’s June cover feature, “A State of Logistics,” looks at how the Iowa DOT incorporated the FASTLane grant program into the development of its new Cedar Rapids logistics park. The Iowa DOT received a grant in the amount of about $25.6 million to support the construction of the $40 million project.
   More details about DOT’s FASTLane grants can be found here.