Latest Updates from USDOT
U.S. Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 11/15/2024 04:06 PM EST |
|
Having trouble viewing this email? View it as a Web page. |
LATEST UPDATES FROM USDOT
BIL ANNIVERSARY EDITION
A Weekly Bulletin from the U.S. Department of Transportation Office of Public Engagement
Volume 4, Number 125, November 15, 2024
Hello friends. Today is the third anniversary of the signing of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, and we are working hard to ensure a robust transition to the incoming Administration. In the weeks ahead, we will share information with you about additional opportunities through the BIL and other ongoing activities. It has been a privilege to work with you to provide access to the historic and transformative resources provided by the BIL and on our mission to ensure a safe, equitable, resilient, and efficient transportation system for all Americans.
Thank you!
Kala Wright
Director of Public Engagement
Office of the Secretary
Sharing below a roundup of the latest activities and opportunities to engage with USDOT
and the Biden-Harris Administration. Thanks as always for your interest.
If you know others who would like to receive these updates, please invite them to sign up here.
|
In This Issue
|
The Big Deal: On Third Anniversary of BIL Signing, USDOT Awards Over $3.4 Billion in Grants to Expand Passenger Rail,
Make Roads Safer, Improve Ports, and Strengthen Supply Chains
Today, on the third anniversary of the signing of the historic $1.2 trillion Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced over $3.4 billion in grants through three priority programs funded through the BIL. Today’s awards announcements will: enhance rail along the Northeast Corridor (NEC); strengthen supply chains and improve port efficiency; improve safety on our roadways; and support domestic manufacturing of sustainable transportation materials. This funding will support state- and locally-led projects of all kinds, adding to the pipeline of projects that will be delivered in the coming years and decades. The programs announcing awards today include: the Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (Fed-State); the Safe Streets and Roads for All Program (SS4A); and the Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP). In addition, the Department announced awards for the Low Carbon Transportation Materials Discretionary Grant Program, created by the historic Inflation Reduction Act. (For additional details and references, please see below for individual articles on each program.)
Screengrab of Map of Biden-Harris Administration Public Infrastructure Investments
In addition, today USDOT released a new video - “The Big Deal” highlighting the Investing in America agenda that is investing in workers, neighborhoods, and better transportation. In honor of today’s anniversary, the White House released a new fact sheet and statement from President Joe Biden.
Screengrabs from The Big Deal - USDOT Video Highlight the Investing in America Agenda
When President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), known commonly as the BIL, on November 15, 2021, he committed to delivering once-in-a-generation investments to rebuild America's infrastructure and competitiveness. Today, USDOT is breaking ground and cutting ribbons on projects across the country to rebuild our roads and bridges, expand passenger rail, improve, and upgrade ports, modernize our airports, and build a clean energy economy for all Americans. To date across the Administration, nearly $570 billion in BIL funding has been announced for over 66,000 projects and awards in all 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories. That’s a Big Deal.
TODAY’S BIG DEAL DISCRETIONARY GRANT AWARD ANNOUNCEMENTS
NEC INFRASTRUCTURE INVESTMENTS
FRA Awards Nearly $1.5 Billion in Additional Upgrades to America’s Busiest Rail Corridor
The Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) today continued its historic investment in passenger rail with nearly $1.5 billion for 19 projects along the Northeast Corridor (NEC). The NEC is one of the busiest and most economically significant rail corridors in the world, with hundreds of thousands of daily riders in a region that represents 20 percent of the U.S. gross domestic product. The funding was included in the BIL and is administered through FRA’s Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail Program (Fed-State NEC), and will further repair and replace vital NEC infrastructure to provide faster, safer, and more reliable service for travelers and commuters.
Amtrak NEC Map
Today’s announcement builds on more than $16.4 billion in Fed-State NEC grants announced in 2023 for projects along the corridor, such as the Gateway Program Hudson River Tunnel Project in New York and New Jersey, Susquehanna River Bridge Replacement Program in Maryland, Walk Bridge Replacement in Connecticut, and New York Penn Station Access Project—all of which have begun construction activities. The NEC grants are a subset of a historic $66 billion investment in America’s passenger rail network, including new high-speed rail services in the West to connect Southern California and Nevada and communities throughout California's Central Valley, new and expanded passenger rail service to better connect the Southeast, restored service to connect multiple States across the Gulf Coast, and investments to further grow rail networks in the Midwest. Through the BIL, USDOT is investing billions of dollars in NEC projects that will benefit riders and the economy, up and down the corridor, with dozens of new projects that will create more than 100,000 jobs, opportunities for small businesses, and new economic activity. See the latest USDOT short-form documentary in the Investing in America series focused on the return of passenger rail to the Gulf Coast here.
FRA Graphic
STRENGTHENING PORTS AND SUPPLY CHAINS AND REDUCING POLLUTION
MARAD Announces Nearly $580 Million for Ports to Strengthen Supply Chains, Lower Costs
Earlier today, the Maritime Administration (MARAD) announced plans to invest nearly $580 million from the BIL to fund 31 port improvement projects in 15 states and one U.S. territory, which will help increase both capacity and efficiency at coastal seaports, Great Lakes ports, and inland river ports. These projects will strengthen supply chain reliability, create workforce development opportunities, enhance freight efficiency, lower costs, reduce emissions, and improve the safety, reliability, and resilience of our ports. The funding comes from MARAD’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP), which received $2.25 billion from the BIL to improve port infrastructure to meet the nation’s freight transportation needs. The program provides planning support, capital funding, and project management assistance to improve the capacity and efficiency of ports in both urban and rural areas.
MARAD PIDP Graphic
With funding provided by the BIL, the Administration has announced investments in 580+ port and waterway projects to strengthen supply chain reliability, speed up the movement of goods, reduce the costs of everyday items, and lower carbon emissions. USDOT’s historic investments in port infrastructure are part of the Administration’s effort to build more resilient supply chains. In February 2021, President Biden ordered a multi-agency approach to tackle supply chain disruptions brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, and later launched the Supply Chain Disruptions Task Force and the White House Council on Supply Chain Resilience to strengthen our supply chains. The Administration’s steady efforts to improve supply chains in the short-, medium-, and long-term have lowered costs for consumers and lowered inflation across the economy. Supply chains accounted for more than 80% of the fall in inflation seen in 2023 and brought inflation down faster than peer economies around the world. Recently, FLOW was used to help mitigate supply chain disruptions during the nearly three-month Port of Baltimore closure.
COMBATTING CLIMATE CHANGE
FHWA Awards $1.2 Billion to Help State DOTs Utilize Cleaner Construction Materials
Yesterday, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced that it has awarded $1.2 billion to 39 State Departments of Transportation under the Low Carbon Transportation Materials Grants Program. The investments will support continued growth in clean American manufacturing, boosting the competitiveness of clean U.S. industries and the creation of good manufacturing jobs while reducing pollution from the production of concrete, steel, and other bedrock materials of our economy. By catalyzing demand for clean construction materials, the Program complements the Administration’s historic investments to support U.S. manufacturers that are cutting industrial emissions – the source of 30 percent of U.S. climate pollution. The program, which received $2 billion in funding under the Inflation Reduction Act, provides states, tribes, metropolitan planning organizations, and other agencies with reimbursement and incentive funding to purchase American-made low carbon construction materials and products, including asphalt, glass, steel, and concrete for use in transportation projects. Building transportation-related infrastructure with cleaner construction materials supports the Administration’s whole-of government approach to economic development and tackling climate change. The program leverages the federal government’s buying power as the world’s largest purchaser to spur demand for clean production of construction materials used in federal buildings, highways, and infrastructure projects.
Low-Carbon Transportation Materials Grant Program Award Recipients
USDOT has worked closely with interagency partners at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to deliver on the Federal Buy Clean Initiative. Through a network of more than 38 grantees across the country as well as direct advisory services, EPA provides technical assistance to support manufacturers, businesses, government entities, nonprofits and other organizations that are developing and using environmental product declarations (EPD) to quantify embodied carbon of construction materials. Join the FHWA Low-Carbon Transportation Materials Email List to receive updates about the Program.
SAVING LIVES THROUGH SAFER ROADWAYS
USDOT Announces $172 Million in Last Batch of FY 2024 SS4A Grant Awards
Earlier today, Secretary Buttigieg announced $172 million in grants to 257 communities through the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) Grant Program, created in President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. This is the third and final round of Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 awards. Combining the FY 2022, FY 2023, and FY 2024 awards to date, SS4A has provided $2.7 billion in Federal funding to over 1,400 communities in all 50 States and Puerto Rico (see map below and interactive map of all grants awarded to date here). Through SS4A, USDOT is empowering tribal, local, and regional efforts to save lives and reduce serious injuries on our roadways. The funding announced today will be used for planning and demonstration projects that will help prevent deaths and serious injuries on America’s rural and urban roads, including some of the most dangerous roads in the country.
USDOT Map of SS4A Awards to Date from SS4A Fact Sheet
In January 2022, after roadway fatalities unexpectedly increased in alarming proportions at over 43,000 deaths in 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic, Secretary Buttigieg declared a national roadway safety crisis. At that time, USDOT launched its first-ever National Roadway Safety Strategy (NRSS), a comprehensive approach to significantly reducing serious injuries and deaths on America’s roads. The Department formally adopted Zero Fatalities as the only acceptable number of roadway fatalities and the Safe System Approach as its guiding paradigm, and roadway crash-related fatalities have declined for more than 2 years, with nine consecutive quarters in which fatalities declined. Since launching in 2022, SS4A has funded projects to plan and implement roadway improvements that are proven to dramatically reduce crashes. Across the nation, SS4A supports roadway safety for around 75 percent of the U.S. population. Today’s announcement comes ahead of World Day of Remembrance for Road Traffic Victims on November 17, a day to recognize those who have been killed and seriously injured in traffic crashes.
SUPPORTING AVIATION IN SMALLER COMMUNITIES
FAA Announces Nearly $12 Million in Grants to Help Small Communities Improve Air Service
On Thursday, October 31, the FAA announced that it has awarded $11.99 million from the Small Community Air Service Development Program (SCASDP) to help 14 communities in 14 states develop their own solutions to local air service needs. These federal grants assist small communities across the country with maintaining and building air service options. Since the inception of the program, DOT has issued nearly 500 grants, helping communities develop projects tailored to their own air service needs. Grants are used to provide financial incentives to carriers, conduct studies on the possibilities of expanded service, and carry out marketing programs to promote existing local service, as well as address other challenges small communities and their airports may experience. The financial assistance helps communities establish first air services, restore lost service, and provides support to establish new routes to improve connectivity and allow people in the community to fly more easily and affordably.
Map of 2024 SCASDP winning route applications
The selected communities are contributing financial resources to supplement the federal support, reflecting a commitment that is important to the potential success of the proposed initiatives. Nearly all the communities have established robust public-private partnerships to enhance community participation and facilitate access to air services, provided a specific plan and timetable for using their grant funds in a timely manner, and many have provided letters of support from interested air carriers. Complete community proposals and the Department’s final order are available at www.regulations.gov, docket DOT-OST-2024-0066.
ROADWAY SAFETY
NHTSA Issues $165 Million Civil Penalty, Second Largest in Agency’s History
Yesterday, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) announced a consent order with Ford Motor Company for failing to comply with federal recall requirements. The consent order includes a civil penalty of $165 million, the second-largest civil penalty in NHTSA’s history. This action follows an investigation that found the company failed to recall vehicles with defective rearview cameras in a timely manner and failed to provide accurate and complete recall information as required by the National Traffic and Motor Vehicle Safety Act. The total civil penalty amount of $165 million is second only to the Takata air bag consent order in the agency’s 54-year history. The consent order includes an upfront payment of $65 million, with an additional $55 million deferred and $45 million for performance obligations.
The monetary and non-monetary provisions of the order are designed to improve Ford’s compliance with the law. As part of the order, an independent third party will oversee and make recommendations regarding all performance obligations and assess the company’s compliance with the consent order, the Vehicle Safety Act, and federal regulations. Under the order, Ford is required to develop and implement safety data analytics infrastructure as well as an end-to-end information and document interface platform with all relevant information for internal and NHTSA-initiated safety investigations. Ford will also be required to review all recalls it has issued over the last three years to ensure they have been properly scoped and, if necessary, file new recalls. Ford and NHTSA will meet quarterly. The consent order requires Ford to submit complete and accurate safety evaluation lists and to maintain its Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) lookup tool.
ENSURING RESILIENT INFRASTRUCTURE
REMINDER: FY 2024-2025 PROTECT NOFO Now Open
Last week, FHWA released the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the FY 2024-FY 2025 cycle for the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Program. The BIL established the PROTECT program to help make surface transportation more resilient to natural hazards, including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk costal infrastructure. This NOFO offers up to $576 million for Fiscal Years 2024 and 2025, and up to $300 million for Fiscal Year 2026. Applications are due via Grants.gov by February 24, 2025. For FY 2022 & 2023, the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program awarded $829.6 million in grant funding to 80 recipients to fund projects that address the climate crisis by improving the resilience of the surface transportation system. The awards are located across 37 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands and include seven tribal projects.
FHWA PROTECT Logo
See the PROTECT Program Fact Sheet and PROTECT NOFO Q&As for more information, and please direct applicant questions to PROTECTdiscretionary@dot.gov. FHWA will be holding a series of webinars (as outlined below) to provide potential applicants with information about the FY 2024-2026 NOFO and how to apply. Note that the content presented in all three “How to Apply” webinars will be the same, and attendees are encouraged to choose only one to attend. Following the webinars, recordings will be posted at Discretionary - PROTECT - Environment.
- November 12, 2024, 2-3 p.m. Eastern Time - How to Apply (Tribal) - Register here.
- November 18, 2024, 2-3:30 p.m. Eastern Time - Benefit-Cost Analysis - Register here.
- November 19, 2024, 4-5 p.m. Eastern Time - How to Apply (Webinar #2) - Register here.
ONGOING ALL-OF-GOVERNMENT RESPONSE TO HURRICANE HELENE
FHWA Sends $43 Million in E.R. Funding to Repair Damage
in National Forests and a National Park Caused by Hurricane Helene
On November 8, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced the immediate availability of $43.1 million in funding from FHWA’s Emergency Relief (E.R.) program for use by the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service for critical repair work in North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee, and Virginia after Hurricane Helen devastated the region. The Biden-Harris Administration has committed to provide ongoing and long-term support for communities affected by Hurricane Helene. The funding also includes repairs to the Blue Ridge Parkway in North Carolina, known as “America’s Favorite Drive” and one of the most visited national parks in the nation.
E.R. “quick release” funds are an initial installment of funds toward restoring essential transportation links to states, territories, tribes, and federal land management agencies for highways and bridges damaged by natural disasters or catastrophic events. These funds will help the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service take on critical eligible repair work that includes removing downed trees, making temporary roadway repairs, stabilizing landslides, and removing overhead hazards and other debris from roadways and bridges to provide safe travel along various routes. Additional funds to repair the damage across these four states, currently estimated to be more than $1 billion, will be supported by the Emergency Relief program through nationwide funding allocations. USDOT will continue to work closely with the states and impacted communities at every step along the path to recovery.
RESOURCES
|
Free USDOT Bulletins and Newsletters
For direct links to social media accounts maintained by USDOT |
Scan this QR Code to subscribe to these weekly bulletins from the Office of Public Engagement:
POSTS OF THE WEEK
(* indicates post includes embedded USDOT video)
* Four years ago, we faced unprecedented crises. President Biden understood the magnitude of the challenge and used the tools of government to meet the moment—including an infrastructure package that is transforming our nation. It will be remembered as this century's Big Deal.
(@SecretaryPete, November 15, 2024)
The JFK Jr. Forum was honored to host U.S. Secretary of Transportation @PeteButtigieg! Secretary Buttigieg reflected on his tenure; discussed building back trust; and offered advice for those looking to pursue life in public service.
(@HarvardIOP, November 13, 2024)
* From rail safety in the Cab Technology Lab to VR solutions reducing truck blind spots, the Volpe Center’s work exemplifies how investments from the infrastructure law can shape a safer, more resilient transportation network.
(@SecretaryPete, November 13, 2024)
* FHWA partnerships on the ground lead to real results — fixing roads & rebuilding communities! FHWA Acting Adm. Kristin White visited SC to see the restoration of Highway 276 in Caesar’s Head, damaged by Hurricane Helene. Thanks to $2M in federal funding & strong teamwork with @SCDOTPress, this key roadway is back open.
(@USDOTFHWA, November 12, 2024)
###
As always, please reach out to us with questions, feedback, and suggestions at engage@dot.gov.
Thank you!
Kala Wright
Director of Public Engagement
Office of the Secretary
|
