U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced $250 million in federal funding allocations Friday for transit projects.
The funding is part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 and will be allocated by the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program. Twenty-two projects in 13 states – Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington State, and Wisconsin – will receive the funding to protect the jobs of infrastructure construction workers.
“Public transit opens new opportunities for people and delivers environmental and economic benefits to communities,” Buttigieg said. “We are delighted to provide support for these projects, which will help communities recover from the pandemic and bring public transit to more people in the months and years to come.”
The American Rescue Plan specifically allocated money for Small Starts projects in the CIG program that previously received a CIG funding allocation from the FTA or that are in the Project Development phase of the CIG program – including projects in bus rapid transit, streetcar, and light rail.
The funding will not count toward statutory Federal or CIG funding limitation, but will assist project sponsors with meeting their local match instead.
“This funding will help numerous communities across the country continue to protect jobs and advance important transit projects that otherwise might have been canceled or delayed due to the pandemic,” said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez. “These federal funding allocations are so important for transit agencies struggling in the wake of COVID-19.”
Projects receiving funding included $17.4 million for Valley Metro in Tempe, Ariz. For the Tempe Streetcar project that connects downtown Tempe, Arizona State University and the employment corridor of Rio Salado Parkway with a three-mile streetcar system; and $2.5 million for the Capital District Transit Authority in Albany, NY for the Washington/Western Bus Rapid Transit Project in the project development phase, which extends the BRT line 8.5 miles from the Albay Bus Terminal through the State University of New York at Albany and the Harriman State Office Complex, to the Crossgates Mall.