AASHTO Journal - USDOT Forms Climate and Transportation Research Group

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently announced plans to establish a USDOT Climate and Transportation Research Initiative; funded at $2.5 million for its first year of operation.

[Above photo by USDOT]

This funding supports a partnership between USDOT and a university or other eligible organizations to conduct research advancing solutions to climate and transportation challenges across the country.  

The USDOT said in a statement that its new Climate and Transportation Research Center will advance research and technologies to support clean energy goals, strengthen the resilience of the country’s transportation infrastructure, and address environmental impacts created by the transportation system.

The aforementioned funding opportunity will provide a university or nonprofit and at least one partner organization $2.5 million in year one, and up to $2.5 million in years two and three, subject to availability of funds. The partnership can be renewed for a total of five years, totaling $12.5 million, also subject to availability of funds. 

An informational webinar on the USDOT’s new climate initiative will be held on October 27, from 2:30 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time. Registration for that webinar is available by clicking here.

This is the latest USDOT effort to fund research into a variety of climate-focused transportation issues.

For example, the USDOT joined with the U.S. General Services Administration, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology – among others – to open the new USDOT John A. Volpe National Transportation Systems Center in September. This new sustainable USDOT facility – a $750-million project a decade in the making – will focus on “transforming transportation for all” across the various modes of mobility.