US Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg has recommended 18 transit projects in 11 states to receive 4.45 billion USD in funding under President Biden’s Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 Budget Request to Congress.
The recommended rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) projects were selected due to their potential to improve how people travel, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and create jobs.
US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said:Transit connects people to jobs, schools, loved ones and more. We're proud to deliver this funding to expand transit across the country, which will create good-paying construction jobs and provide better options for people to get where they need to go.
The listed projects seek funding through the FTA Capital Investment Grants (CIG) and Expedited Project Delivery (EPD) Pilot programmes, which require a local funding match.
Nine of these projects are recommended to receive funding for the first time:
- In California, the Monterey-Salinas Transit SURF! Highway 1 Busway and Bus Rapid Transit project will connect Marina, Sand City and Seaside. This project will include a dedicated busway to reduce congestion and improve on-time performance. ($14 million)
- In Colorado, the Regional Transportation District East Colfax Avenue BRT line will run from Denver Union Station to the Anschultz Medical Campus. It will include 5.5 miles of dedicated lanes, level boarding, off-board fare collection, and transit signal priority. ($118.8 million)
- In Illinois, the Chicago Transit Authority Red Line Extension project will add 5.6 miles of heavy rail to Chicago’s Far South Side. ($350 million)
- In Minnesota, the Metropolitan Council METRO F Line BRT project will connect the northeast area of Minneapolis to suburban communities. ($45.3 million)
- In North Carolina, the Wake BRT Southern Corridor project will connect downtown Raleigh with downtown Garner. ($77.8 million)
- In South Carolina, the Lowcountry BRT project will connect North Charleston with downtown. It includes the purchase of 19 electric buses to provide emission-free transport. ($100 million)
- In Texas, the Metropolitan Transit Authority of Harris County’s University Corridor BRT project in Houston will benefit from dedicated transit-only lanes for the entire route. ($150 million)
- In Utah, the Utah Department of Transportation FrontRunner Strategic Double Track project will include double-tracking sections of the current FrontRunner system, and purchasing 10 new train sets to increase capacity. ($316.8 million)
- Also in Utah, the Utah Transit Authority Midvalley Connector BRT project will build 1.4 miles of dedicated bus lanes for riders across Salt Lake City. ($54.7 million)
FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez said:Transit is a great equalizer for our nation. For the men and women who will use these systems, this investment will open doors to opportunities they may otherwise never have had. For the communities where they'll be built, every dollar we provide will result in five dollars, or even more, of economic growth.
The President’s FY 2024 Budget also includes proposed funding for four projects with existing construction grant agreements:
- In California, 643 million USD is recommended for the Los Angeles Westside Subway Section 2 and Section 3 rail projects
- In Minnesota, 291.9 million USD is recommended for the Minneapolis Southwest Light Rail Transit project, which will add 14.5 miles to the existing METRO Green Line to connect downtown Minneapolis, Saint Paul, St. Louis Park, Hopkins, Minnetonka and Eden Prairie
- In Washington, 250.7 million USD is recommended for the Seattle Lynwood Link Light Rail extension project
In addition, the FY 2024 budget request includes proposed funding for five projects in the CIG/EPD pipeline, which continues funding recommendations for projects that received partial funding in prior budgets:
- In California, 500 million USD is recommended for the BART Silicon Valley Phase II Project, which will extend BART service six miles through downtown San Jose to Santa Clara
- Also in California, 167 million USD is recommended for the East San Fernando Valley Transit Corridor Phase I
- In Minnesota, 28.8 million USD is recommended for the Rochester Bus Rapid Transit project
- In New York and New Jersey, 700 million USD is recommended for the proposed Hudson Tunnel Project to improve reliability for NJ Transit and Amtrak trains
- Also in New York, 498.8 million USD is proposed for the Second Avenue Subway Phase II Project, which will provide transit access in Manhattan to East Side residents
The FTA’s annual report on these funding recommendations can be viewed here.
