Inaugural FASTLANE grants leverage $3.6 billion to support transportation infrastructure

Washington, D.C. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced 18 infrastructure projects across the country that will receive federal grants as part of the new Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) program. The grants, totaling nearly $800 million, will be combined with other funding from federal, state, local, and private sources to support $3.6 billion in infrastructure investment in 15 states and the District of Columbia.

“The FAST Act gave us a set of tools to begin addressing America’s infrastructure deficit, and we have been moving full speed ahead to get critical road, rail, and port projects off the ground across the country,” said Secretary Foxx.  “From eliminating traffic bottlenecks and enhancing port capacity to overhauling a major freight corridor, the 18 inaugural FASTLANE grants will enable people and goods to move more efficiently.”

A few examples of this year’s FASTLANE awards include the following:

• In Virginia, the Atlantic Gateway project is a corridor approach to improving mobility across the Eastern seaboard. Combining a $165 million FASTLANE grant with public and private funding from multiple partners, it improves and expands key segments of the corridor.

• The Oklahoma Department of Transportation will be awarded $62 million to improve safety and efficiency of high-volume freight traffic along the US 69/75 corridor in southern Oklahoma. The project will implement grade separations, remove railroad/local street crossing conflicts, and increase speeds to increase mobility. 

• The Arizona Department of Transportation will be awarded $54 million for bottleneck improvements along I-10 between Phoenix and Tucson. To increase driver safety, new dust storm early warning technology will also be installed along I-10.

• The Maine Department of Transportation will be awarded $7 million to improve the infrastructure, equipment, and technology at the Port of Portland. With improvements to the access and connectivity, the Port upgrades will replace truck shipments from Canada via congested interstates.

The FASTLANE grant program was established as part of the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act and is administered by the newly launched Build America Bureau (The Bureau) at the Department of Transportation (USDOT). The Bureau will drive transportation infrastructure development projects in the United States by streamlining credit and grant opportunities while providing technical assistance and encouraging innovative best practices in project planning, financing, delivery, and monitoring.

“The Build America Bureau brings together FASTLANE grants, credit programs like TIFIA and RRIF, and technical support into a one-stop-shop designed to get infrastructure projects funded and built,” said Andrew Right, Acting Director of the Build America Bureau.

FASTLANE grant recipients were selected through a thorough review process at the Department of Transportation to identify projects that will have significant regional and national impacts by reducing congestion, expanding capacity, using innovative technology, improving safety, or moving freight more efficiently.

FASTLANE grants will address many of the challenges outlined in the USDOT report Beyond Traffic, including increased congestion on the nation’s highways and the need for a strong multimodal transportation system to support the expected growth in freight movement both by ton and value.  is the grant awards are also in line with the Department’s draft National Freight Strategic Plan released in October 2015, which looks at challenges and identifies strategies to address impediments to the efficient flow of goods throughout the nation.

For more information about FASTLANE grants, visit www.transportation.gov/FASTLANEgrants.

The USDOT awarded Fiscal Year 2016 grants in the amounts below to the following entities to make improvements to:

• Interstate 10 Phoenix to Tucson Improvements — Arizona Department of Transportation, Pinal County, Arizona, Rural; Amount: $54,000,000
• SR-11 Segment 2 and Southbound Connectors — California Department of Transportation and San Diego Association of Governments, San Diego County, California, Urban; Proposed Grant Amount: $49,280,000
• Arlington Memorial Bridge Reconstruction Project — National Park Service and District of Columbia Department of Transportation, District of Columbia, Urban ; Amount: $90,000,000
• Port of Savannah International Multi-Modal Connector — Georgia Ports Authority, Savannah, Georgia, Urban; Amount: $44,000,000
• I-10 Freight Corridor Rehabilitation and Expansion (CoRE) — Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development, Lafayette, Louisiana, Rural; Amount: $60,000,000
• Conley Terminal Intermodal Improvements and Modernization — Massachusetts Port Authority (MASSPORT), Boston, Massachusetts, Urban; Amount: $42,000,000
• I-390/I-490/Route 31 Interchange, Lyell Avenue Corridor Project — New York State Department of Transportation, Town of Gates, New York, Urban; Amount: $32,000,000
• US 69/75 Bryan County — Oklahoma Department of Transportation, Calera, Oklahoma, Rural; Amount: $62,000,000
• Atlantic Gateway: Partnering to Unlock the I-95 Corridor — Virginia Department of Transportation, Commonwealth of Virginia, Urban; Amount: $165,000,000
• South Lander Street Grade Separation and Railroad Safety Project — City of Seattle, Seattle, Washington, Urban; Amount: $45,000,000
• I/39/90 Corridor Project — Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Janesville, Wisconsin, Rural; Amount: $40,000,000
• Truck Parking Availability Systems — Florida Department of Transportation, State of Florida, Rural (Small Project); Amount: $10,778,237
• Cedar Rapids Logistics Park — Iowa Department of Transportation, Cedar Rapids, Iowa, Rural (Small Project); Amount: $25,650,000
• U.S. 95 North Corridor Access Improvement Project — Idaho Department of Transportation, Kootenai County, Idaho, Rural (Small Project); Amount: $5,100,000
• Maine Intermodal Port Productivity Project — Maine Department of Transportation, Portland, Maine, Rural (Small Project); Amount: $7,719,173
• Cross Harbor Freight Program — Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, Jersey City, New Jersey and New York, New York, Urban (Small Project); Amount: $10,672,590
• Coos Bay Rail Line – Tunnel Rehabilitation Project — Oregon International Port of Coos Bay, Lane, Douglas, and Coos Counties, Oregon, Rural (Small Project); Amount: $11,000,000
• Strander Boulevard Extension and Grade Separation Phase 3 — City of Tukwila, Washington, City of Tukwila, Washington, Urban (Small Project); Amount: $5,000,000