FHWA awards $321.4 million in grants

Six projects were selected from the 39 applications to receive funds in the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects grants.

   The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) on Wednesday announced the selection of six projects to receive $321.4 million in Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects (NSFLTP) grants.
   Officials reviewed the 39 applications, which had estimated construction costs approaching $2 billion, after publishing a notice of funding opportunity in October. The projects, which are spread across seven states, are the first grants awarded under the NSFLTP program.
   The program was established in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act in 2015 “to provide federal funding for the construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of transportation projects providing access to or located on federal or tribal lands,” according to the FHWA. The federal share of a project can be up to 90% under the NSFLTP, which gives priority to projects with an estimated construction cost of at least $50 million, but it also accepts projects with estimated constructions costs of at least $25 million.
   The construction of a West Virginia Route 72 and U.S. Route 219 interchange in northeast West Virginia received the most money with $100 million. A project in south Florida to reconstruct, raise and construct small bridges across a section of U.S. 41 received $60 million.
   Arizona received nearly $49.9 million to widen and upgrade Pima Road; Utah received $47.92 million to make improvements on state roads 262 and 162; the rehabilitation of a section of the Natchez Trace Parkway in Alabama and Mississippi received $35.76 million; and Wyoming received $27.82 million for reconstruction and upgrades to several miles of road near Yellowstone National Park’s North Entrance.