The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) recently announced a total of $250 million in federal funding allocations to 22 transit projects in the agency's Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program.
FTA says the funding is meant to help communities across the country protect the jobs of workers involved in constructing transit projects, ensuring the continued advancement of those critical pieces of infrastructure, despite the impacts of COVID-19.
Funding is provided by the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which was signed into law by President Biden on March 11, 2021. The transit infrastructure projects are located in 13 states: Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington State, and Wisconsin.
The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 specified that $250 million could be distributed to Small Starts projects in the CIG program that previously received a CIG funding allocation from the FTA or that are in the Project Development phase of the CIG program. These projects represent several modes, including bus rapid transit, streetcar, and light rail. Projects in the Project Development phase are nearing completion of the requirements in law for a construction grant award. The Act further specified that the funding does not count toward statutory Federal or CIG funding limitations, but rather is meant to assist project sponsors with their local match.
"This funding will help numerous communities across the country continue to protect jobs and advance important transit projects that otherwise might have been canceled or delayed due to the pandemic," FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said in a statement. "These federal funding allocations are so important for transit agencies struggling in the wake of COVID-19."
The CIG Program provides funding for major transit infrastructure capital investments nationwide. Projects accepted into the program must go through a multi-year, multi-step process according to requirements in law to be eligible for consideration to receive program funds.
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SOURCE: Federal Transit Administration
