$417 Million To Fund Highway Projects

Last week, the Federal Highway Administration awarded discretionary highway grants in what could be among the last expenditures before the Sept. 30 expiration of the gas tax. Included were $8m for Value Pricing Pilot Program projects in 5 states.

August 22, 2011, 10am PDT | Irvin Dawid

The awards were announced August 17.

From the press release:

"Congress created the discretionary grant programs to give the Federal Highway Administration (FWHA) latitude to support projects that maintain the nation's roads and bridges, improve roadway safety and make communities more livable." Unlike prior years when Congress chose some of the projects, this year all were awarded through a competitive process.

The largest winners of the Value Pricing Pilot Program were:
*$3,200,000 study to evaluate cordon pricing for downtown Los Angeles.
*$1.22 million to introduce peak-pricing on the 183A Turnpike in Austin, TX and "studying the influence on driving patterns, including dynamic ridesharing and HOV.
*$1.12 million to study pricing strategies for the I-95 corridor from New Haven to New York.

See state-by-state list of the FY11 grants.

Thanks to Richard Mudge

Full Story:

U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces $417.3 Million in Grants for State Highway Projects

Published on Wednesday, August 17, 2011 in FHWA Press Release