AASHTO Journal - USDOT Awards $4.2B to Major Transportation Projects

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently issued $4.2 billion to 44 major transportation projects across the country through two discretionary grant programs: the National Infrastructure Project Assistance or “Mega” grant program and the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America or “INFRA” grant program.

[Above photo by USDOT]

The agency noted in a statement that three of those projects – in Phoenix, Chicago, and Providence, RI – received awards from both programs.

To date, the USDOT said it has awarded nearly $12.8 billion in grants through the INFRA and Mega programs for 140 projects across 42 states, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, funding 35 large bridge projects; 18 large port projects; 20 rail projects; and 85 highway improvement projects.

The agency added that roughly 53 percent of projects that have received funding to date are in rural communities, with about 42 percent of them are located in disadvantaged communities.

In this round of grant awards via the Mega program, the USDOT awarded $1.68 billion to 11 transportation projects, with six of them overseen by state departments of transportation and/or divisions within them:

California Department of Transportation: The Madera High-Speed Rail Station Project gets $54.5 million to help pay for construction of a high-speed rail station for the Merced-Bakersfield California High-Speed Rail interim service in part via improvements at the relocated Madera Amtrak Station location.
Iowa Department of Transportation: The Southwest Mixmaster Interchange Reconstruction gets $68.6 million to help improve the connections of I-80, I-35, and I-235. This reconstruction effort will increase capacity and improve interchange geometry to meet current standards, allowing for reliable speeds and reduced weaving – design changes aimed at reducing crashes.
Illinois Department of Transportation: The Illinois DOT received two Mega grants via this round of funding. The first is a $209.8 million grant for the CREATE Project EW2A that seeks to make improvements along a three-mile elevated rail corridor on Chicago’s South Side. The second is a $95.5 million grant for the I-290/1st Avenue Interchange Project that is reconstructing portions of I-290 and the 1st Avenue interchange, as well as implementing signalized interchanges at Van Buren Street and Maybrook Drive. Additionally, the project will make drainage improvements to alleviate flooding.
Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority: A division of the Massachusetts Department of Transportation, the MBTA gets a $472.3 million grant for the North Station Renovation and Draw 1 Bridge Replacement Project that will replace the Draw 1 rail drawbridge used by Amtrak and MBTA.
Rhode Island Department of Transportation: The Washington Bridge Replacement Project gets a $125.3 million grant to help replace the Washington Bridge North, which includes resurfacing and restriping on the I-195 mainline, to restore the closed bridge to its full capacity.

Meanwhile, the USDOT issued $2.58 billion worth of INFRA grants to 36 projects across the country in both rural and urban communities, with state DOTs and/or their divisions overseeing 27 of those projects:

California Department of Transportation: Caltrans gets two grants via this round of funding awards. First, the US 101/SR 84 Interchange Reimagined Project gets a $105 million grant to help replace all ramps at the US 101/SR 84 interchange, widen Woodside Road to six lanes between Bay Road and the northbound US 101 off-ramp at Seaport Boulevard, lower Woodside Road to increase the vertical clearance at US 101, and eliminate the five-leg intersection at Broadway/Woodside Road. Second, the Tulare SR 99 Corridor and Paige Avenue Multimodal Interchange Improvements Project gets a more than $98 million grant to reconstruct four outdated hook ramps into a consolidated multimodal interchange; building sequential roundabouts at the ramp termini and adjacent local street intersections.
Colorado Department of Transportation: The US 287 Corridor Safety Improvements Project gets a $47.2 million grant to help add passing lanes and widen shoulders, flatten substandard side slopes, construct wildlife crossings and intersection improvements, implement centerline rumble strips, and add an 11-mile median barrier on US 287 from the Colorado-Wyoming state border to the Boulder County line.
Connecticut Department of Transportation: The I-91/I-691 Route 15 Interchange Improvements Project gets a $125 million grant to help reconstruct, realign, and reconfigure the interchange connecting I-91, I-691, and Route 15 in Meriden and Middletown.
Florida Department of Transportation: The US 1/SR 5 Long Key Bridge Replacement Project gets a $66.5 million grant to replace the US 1/SR 5 Long Key Bridge with a structure featuring wider 10-foot shoulders, a bicycle/pedestrian shared use path, a 75-year service life design, and greater resilience to severe tropical storms.
Hawaii Department of Transportation: The Hawaii Belt Road Wailuku River Bridge Rehabilitation Project gets an over $33 million grant to help rehabilitate the Wailuku River Bridge located on the Hawaii Belt Road – also known as Mamalahoa Highway or HI-19 – that circles the Island of Hawaii.
Illinois Department of Transportation: The CREATE Project EW2A gets a $81.3 million grant to help make improvements along an approximately three-mile elevated rail corridor on Chicago’s South Side.
Indiana Department of Transportation: The Improve 64 Project gets a $105.1 million grant to help reconstruct the I-64 and I-265 interchange, add travel lanes, and rehabilitate pavement throughout the corridor, replace seven bridges, rehabilitate eight bridges, build one new bridge, and improve roadway lighting.
Kansas Department of Transportation: The I-35 Santa Fe Forward Project gets a $97.7 million grant to help improve I-35 from Old 56 Highway to 119th Street and on the major arterials of Santa Fe Street and Old Highway 56 in the city of Olathe.
Kentucky Transportation Cabinet: The Mountain Parkway Expansion Project gets a $116.3 million grant to help construct an approximately 12.6-mile roadway that connects the existing Mountain Parkway to KY 114. The roadway will have four 12-foot lanes, a 40-foot median, and 12-foot shoulders.
Maryland Transportation Authority: A division of the Maryland Department of Transportation, the MTA gets a $7.5 million grant for its Curtis Creek Drawbridge Rehabilitation and Resiliency Project aimed at rehabilitating parallel drawbridges over Curtis Creek on I-695.
Maryland Port Administration: Also a division of the Maryland DOT, the MPA gets a $30.9 million grant for the Dundalk Marine Terminal Reconstruction of Berth 11 Project, which seeks to rehabilitate and replace some 597 linear feet of wharf deck, including pilings, substructure, storm water drainage, utilities, and installation of new mooring bollards, cleats, pneumatic fenders, flood barriers, and tidal gates.
Michigan Department of Transportation: The River Raisin Bridge and I-75 Revitalization Project get an over $196 million grant to help replace the structurally deficient River Raisin Bridge and revitalize roadway along I-75.
Minnesota Department of Transportation: The agency received two grants from this round of funding. First, the I-494 E-ZPass Project gets a $138 million grant to help add E-ZPass lanes on I-494 in both directions between Highway 169 and East Bush Lake Road, and I-35W and Highway 77. Second, the I-20/I-55 Freight Corridor Improvement Project gets $86.6 million to help update seven bridge structures to meet modern design standards, repair an additional 19 bridge structures, and deploy Intelligent Transportation System equipment.
Mississippi Department of Transportation: The SR 67 Superstreet Corridor Project gets a $40.6 million grant to help upgrade SR 67 to a Superstreet Corridor and will include a comprehensive redesign of 43 intersections and median turns along the route.
Montana Department of Transportation: The agency received two grants via this round of funding. First, the Stone Creek North Reconstruction Project gets a $23.9 million grant to reconstruct approximately seven miles of Montana Highway 41. Second, the Gore Hill Interchange Reconstruction Project gets a more than $19 million grant to help reconfigure that interchange from a stop-controlled design into roundabouts.
North Dakota Department of Transportation: The US 52 Freight Reliability and Preservation Projects gets a $20 million grant to help rehabilitate over 45 miles of existing asphalt pavement from west of Drake to Fessenden and consolidate access points at the intersection of US 52 and North Dakota Highway 3 in Harvey.
New Mexico Department of Transportation: The I-40 Rio Puerco Project gets a $30.4 million grant to help replace paired bridges that carry I-40 over the Rio Puerco. Additional work includes partial reconstruction of the interstate’s approaches to the bridges to address existing horizontal geometric deficiencies.
Nevada Department of Transportation: The I-80 East Lane Addition/Shoulder Widening Project gets a $275.5 million grant to help widen I-80 from Vista Boulevard to USA Parkway between the Reno/Sparks metro area and Tahoe Reno Industrial Center.
Ohio Department of Transportation: The Ohio Truck Parking Expansion Project gets a $17.8 million grant to help repurpose two closed rest areas as new truck parking facilities; one on I-70 eastbound near New Paris with 100 truck parking spaces, and the other on I-80 eastbound near Hubbard with 38 truck parking spaces.
Rhode Island Department of Transportation: The Washington Bridge Replacement Project gets a $95.5 million grant to help replace the Washington Bridge North, with resurfacing and restriping on the I-195 mainline to restore the closed bridge to its full capacity.
South Carolina Department of Transportation: The I-526/Long Point Road Project gets a $195 million grant to help improve operations of the I-526/Long Point Road interchange and I-526 mainline and reduce operational conflicts between port-related and local traffic with new collector distributor ramps off the mainline directly to the port.
Washington State Department of Transportation: The SR 104 Hood Canal Bridge Girder Replacement Project gets a $51.1 million grant to help enhance the resilience of the Hood Canal Bridge by replacing 55 reinforced concrete beams and 216 pre-stressed concrete girder lines along 3,400 linear feet on the west-half superstructure of that structure.
Wisconsin Department of Transportation: The I-43 Safety Rest Areas & Truck Parking Expansion Project gets a $12.5 million grant to help replace both the Rest Area 51 Maribel and Rest Area 52 Denmark facilities along I-43 in Manitowoc County.