The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded 24 accelerators $24 million in Regional Infrastructure Accelerators (RIA) program funding.
The program measures how different regional models can expedite the development and delivery of transportation projects. It funds and encourages best practices in project planning, studies and analysis, preliminary engineering, and design.
“Building capacity at the regional level to use innovative delivery and financing options is critical to addressing America’s infrastructure challenges,” said Dr. Morteza Farajian, executive director of the Build America Bureau, the agency that administers RIA. “The RIA program is a novel approach that enables the Bureau to help our partners deliver more good projects faster.”
Awardees include the California Department of Transportation, the Pacific Northwest Economic Region, the State of Louisiana Executive Office, the Montgomery County (Maryland) Department of Transportation, and the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada received $2 million.
In addition, the RIA program previously awarded grants in 10 regions already accelerating transportation projects. They include:
The Fresno Council of Governments RIA provided $49.7 million to advance the TradePort California Project. Funding will be used for site acquisition and other needs.
The Pacific Northwest Economic Region RIA provided a $1.235 million grant to support project development for the Pine Road highway and rail grade separation project in the Northwest.