New Biden Administration ‘Mega’ grant program awards millions to transit, passenger rail projects

The below Jan. 31, 2022 press release* is from the American Public Transportation Association (APTA).

The American Public Transportation Association (APTA) today applauded the Biden Administration for investing nearly $520 million in new grants toward four critical public transit and passenger rail projects in California, Illinois, New York and Pennsylvania.

The projects are four of nine from across the country that the White House will be investing millions in through its new National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) discretionary grant program. The new investment is part of the $1.2 billion in mega grants being awarded under the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law.

“Providing the necessary investment to modernize our public transit and passenger rail systems will allow agencies across the country to meet growing community demands for increased mobility choices that will reap economic and environmental benefits nationwide,” said APTA President and CEO Paul P. Skoutelas. “These historic investments in our country’s public transportation infrastructure will enable our communities to provide access to opportunities and create family-wage jobs, advance equity, and tackle climate change.”

Throughout 2022, the first year of Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) funding, the U.S. Department of Transportation awarded $27.4 billion for thousands of public transit and passenger rail projects. In December 2022, Congress doubled down on that investment by approving an appropriations package for Fiscal Year 2023 that continues to meet the promise of the IIJA: $21.2 billion for public transit and $16.6 billion for passenger and freight rail.

The latest round of public transportation investments announced via the “Mega” grant program include:

• $292 million for Hudson Yards Concrete Casing, Section 3 (New York, NY): This award will cover construction of the third and final section of the concrete casing intended to preserve future right-of-way for the new Hudson River Tunnel and allow for the continued redevelopment of Hudson Yards. This is a part of the larger Gateway Program, which will modernize this most heavily used part of the Northeast Corridor. This portion of the Northeast Corridor between New Jersey and New York City carries over 200,000 daily Amtrak and NJ TRANSIT passenger trips. The project will also reduce commuter and intercity rail delays caused by unanticipated events or routine maintenance and increase on-time performance.
• $117 million for Metra UP North Rebuild – Fullerton to Addison (Chicago, IL): The project will provide safe and efficient transportation for residents in the northern neighborhoods of Chicago and nearby suburbs by replacing approximately 11 bridges, 4 miles of track structure, and more than 1.75 miles of retaining walls along Metra’s UP-N line. Metra estimates that the project will reduce passenger delay by 38 million hours over the next 30 years. The location of the project and its ability to connect several employment centers and areas experiencing economic development make it likely to generate significant national economic benefits.
• $78 million for Roosevelt Boulevard Multimodal Project (Philadelphia, PA): The project will make improvements along approximately 12.3 miles of Roosevelt Boulevard, from North Broad Street to the Bucks County line. It will also create new business access and transit lanes. The corridor serves ten Southeastern Pennsylvania Transit Authority (SEPTA) transit routes and as many as 25,000 bus riders per day on over 28 bus routes. The project will improve sustainable transportation infrastructure for walking, transit riders, and cycling, and will greatly improve multimodal and transit access across disadvantaged neighborhoods.
• $30 million for Watsonville-Cruz Multimodal Corridor Program (Santa Cruz, CA): This award will cover the purchase of four new Zero-Emission Buses (ZEBs) and add auxiliary lane and bus on shoulder (BOS) access on State Route 1 (SR 1), the main commuter route linking the Watsonville area to job centers in Santa Cruz, Silicon Valley and the Bay Area. The project is estimated to create 2,167 jobs and improve access to three of the top employers in Santa Cruz County.

* “Public Transit, Passenger Rail Projects to Receive Millions in Investment from Biden Administration’s New ‘Mega’ Grant Program,” Jan. 31, 2022 press release.

For more, visit: apta.com

Corresponding, connected home-page-entry image: Oliver Brown