The Federal Highway Administration will be offering $250 million in competitive grants over five years through the new Congestion Relief Program to advance multimodal solutions that reduce vehicular traffic in congested metropolitan areas.
The program will provide funding to projects that improve coordination with transit, optimize existing highway capacity and transit systems, reduce highway congestion and the economic and environmental costs associated with congestion, and encourage other modes of travel.
The first round of funding will provides $150 million in grants for fiscal years 2022, 2023 and 2024.
Eligible applicants are cities, states, metropolitan planning organizations, and municipalities in urban areas with a population of at least 1 million.
Eligible projects include certain transit and mobility services, and integrated congestion management systems.
“Traffic congestion without multimodal options is a major problem throughout America, especially in large metro areas, significantly limiting mobility and reducing clean air quality in our cities — while diminishing productivity nationwide because of higher costs when people and goods are delayed in traffic,” Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt said. “With this program, we’re aiming to tackle congestion and provide a higher standard of living and greater multimodal options and working for the people in populated areas.”
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law created the Congestion Relief Program.