The Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) recently awarded 72 projects in 38 counties more than $74 million in 2025 Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside grants to improve community resources and public accessibility.
PennDOT, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organizations reviewed applications for a variety of criteria including cost effectiveness, readiness for implementation, safety benefits, impact on low-income or minority communities, and leveraging of other projects or funding.
“Whether it’s a walk to school or a ride to the office, how you get there is the most critical part of any trip,” PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said. “Thanks to this investment, communities around the commonwealth are creating and improving options for pedestrians, cyclists and transit users.”
Projects in this round of funding will create trail projects that serve a transportation purpose, create safe routes to schools, construct pedestrian and bicycle facilities, improve access to public transportation, or enhance safety for vulnerable travelers.
Awardees include the Rail-Trail Council of NEPA that was awarded $1.5 million for a four-mile D&H Rail Trail improvement project in Ararat and Thompson townships and Thompson Borough.
Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Projects are funded as part of the Federal Highway Administration’s Surface Block Grant Program.