The U.S. Department of Transportation this week announced the recipients of $225 million in project funding under the Competitive Highway Bridge Program. The program is reserved for projects located in mostly rural states.
"U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao today announced the recipients of $225 million in Competitive Highway Bridge Program (CHBP) grant funding," according to a U.S. Department of Transportation press release.
The program will deliver funding to 20 projects in 18 states. According to the press release, 25 states were eligible to receive funding from the program. "By law, the funds were restricted to states with population densities of less than 100 people per square-mile based on Census data," reads the release.
The U.S. Department of Transportation supplemented the press release by tweeting remarks delivered by Secretary Chao to the Mississippi Coastal Region Transportation Summit in Biloxi, Mississippi, discussing the program's focus on funding for rural areas.
.@SecElaineChao, “Under this Administration’s guidance, @USDOT is also ensuring that rural areas, which were historically neglected, get proper consideration. I always say that rural America is not looking for a handout – it just wants fairness and equity.”
— TransportationGov (@USDOT) August 29, 2019
The program is also designed to prioritize "bundling of projects, as explained in the release: "The funds must be used for highway bridge replacement or rehabilitation projects on public roads that leverage the efficiencies associated with 'bundling' at least two highway bridge projects into a single contract.
The U.S. DOT is pushing bundling for its savings in time and money, in the hopes of clearing the nation's transportation infrastructure project backlog.
The press release also lists the project with short descriptions of the projects awarded CHBP funding.
FULL STORY: U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao Announces $225 Million in Grants
$1.5 Billion in BUILD Grants Announced
The U.S. Department of Transportation announced funding winners for the BUILD grant program, which replaced TIGER this year. The differences between the two programs are immediately obvious.
USDOT Ends Effort to Tie Transportation Funding to ICE Cooperation
The department ended its effort to challenge a court ruling barring it from withholding federal grants over immigration enforcement.
New RAISE Grant Program Replaces BUILD Grants at the U.S. Department of Transportation
The policy whiplash from the Obama administration to the Trump administration and now to the Biden administration continues.
The state-sanctioned urbicide of Austin
People don’t kill cities. Freeways do.
US to reduce Colorado River water deliveries to Mexico
A new Colorado Treaty amendment reduces Mexico’s Colorado River water allocation by 250,000 acre feet.
New Jersey’s second-largest city bans standalone data centers
Jersey City will continue to allow co-location facilities, such as those meant for research institutions that store their own data.
Amtrak not solely to blame for New Jersey commuter rail's unreliability, report finds
A new study from the Garden State Initiative found that NJ Transit’s budget grew 20% across a 4 year period, but reliability declined significantly over the same period.
EPA erases limits on planet-warming pollution from power plants
Under Monday’s plan, power plants would still have some limits on how much mercury, arsenic and other contaminants they can emit.
Phoenix announces new on-demand transit service, more frequent RAPID buses
Both new services will launch in October, and are part of Phoenix's Project Effective Access Solutions for Easing Congestion.
FREE Course: Walkable City 1: Why Walkability?
After describing his path towards focusing on walkability as the essence of good planning, Jeff Speck marches through his five principal reasons for making more walkable places.
Reinventing Malls: Planning Alchemy—Turning Gray Fields Into Gold
The course focuses on the opportunities and imperatives that shape reinvention of mall sites.
Eagle County Government
Harvard University Graduate School of Design
Nashville Planning Department
The Architects Foundation
University of Cincinnati Online
The Pocatello Development Authority
The Urban Renewal Agency of the City of Pocatello
Journal of the American Planning Association