The US Department of Transportation has awarded more than 130 million USD in grants for 42 technology demonstration projects through the latest round of its Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program.
Established as part President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law; the grant programme pledges 500 million USD to governing bodies to aid the advancement of technology to create safer, efficient and innovative transportation systems over the next five years.
Projects awarded grants in the two latest rounds of funding include new technology relating to the improvement of curb management, rail & transit automation, smart traffic signal technology, transit innovation and workzone safety.
Secretary Pete Buttigieg, said:Through the SMART Grants Program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are investing in new technologies and approaches that can help communities across the country address their most pressing transportation challenges.
The awards we’re announcing today will put funding in the hands of state, local, and Tribal governments to support their key priorities, which range from the delivery of medical supplies in rural areas to ensuring transportation system resilience in the face of natural disasters.
Thus far, the DOT has awarded a total of nearly 280 million USD across a cumulative 45 US states, as well as Puerto Rico and Washington D.C..
A two-stage programme; SMART is currently entering the third year of its awards process. Stage One sees projects granted funding during Planning and Prototyping stages, with Stage Two seeing funding granted during project Implementation.
This year, DOT has received 308 eligible grant applications, and has awarded the first set of Stage Two deployment awards across eight states, with thirty four Stage One awards granted across 21 states. DOT also received twenty eight applications for Stage Two funding from eligible Stage One recipients.
Dr. Robert C. Hampshire, Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Research and Technology and Chief Science Officer at the Department of Transportation, said:The high demand for the SMART Grants Program over all three years demonstrates the need for purpose-driven technology solutions undertaken by State, local, and Tribal agencies. This first round of Stage Two awards will implement these solutions at scale, building on successes demonstrated in their first stage.
