DC Mayor Bowser announces $20M in federal transportation grants for district trail, bus projects

© Shutterstock

District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Monday that DC had received nearly $20 million in grants from the U.S. Department of Transportation to support the District Department of Transportation’s (DDOT) connectivity of the South Capitol Street Trail, as well as the clean energy transition of the district’s bus fleet.

“This critical federal funding will help us build a greener, safer, and more connected DC,” said Mayor Bowser. “We know that President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is going to transform cities and states across the nation, and we are eager to get these dollars out the door and into projects that move DC forward.”

Bowser said the South Capitol Street Trail project will receive $10 million from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program. The project will complete the National Capital Trail Network with a nearly 3.8-mile-long trail starting at South Capitol Street and ending at Oxon Hill Farm Train along DC Village Lane. The trail will extend the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail into the southernmost areas of DC, Bowser’s office said.

The district will also receive $9.59 million to purchase an additional 17 electric buses for the DC Circulator fleet from the federal 2022 Low-No Grant Program and Grants for Buses and Bus Facilities Competitive Program Discretionary Grant. By purchasing the buses using the grant, the district will advance its commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions, as well as its commitment to implement sustainable transportation goals found in the Clean Energy Omnibus Act of 2019, the Sustainable DC 2.0 Plan, the moveDC plan, and the Washington Metropolitan Council of Government’s Visualize 2045 Long-Range Transportation Plan.

“DDOT has been very proactive and intentional about securing all federal funding opportunities available for projects that aim to promote a better quality of life for all our residents,” said DDOT Director Everett Lott. “Thanks to Mayor Bowser’s support and the support of the federal government, we are making investments that will result in projects connecting all our residents to more sustainable transportation options.”