The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) have allotted over $108 million in grants for 85 projects that will improve transportation and reduce roadway fatalities on Federal and Tribal lands.
The grants, from FHWA’s Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects and Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund programs, are the latest from the agency in efforts to invest in transportation improvements and improve safety, mobility, economic development, and equity on Federal and Tribal lands.
“Good transportation infrastructure is vital to the well-being of those traveling on Federal Lands and for those living and working in Native American, Alaska Native, and other indigenous peoples' communities,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a press releases announcing the grants. “The grants we are announcing today will help make travel in these areas safer.”
“Improving safety for those traveling on Tribal lands is of paramount importance to the U.S. Department of Transportation,” said Arlando Teller, Assistant Secretary for Tribal Government, in the press release. “This funding can improve roads, intersections, sidewalks and bike paths in these communities for all who use them.”
At an event at Yellowstone National Park this week, FHWA Administrator Shailen Bhatt announced $88 million in grants to five projects nationwide under the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program, specifically:
- National Park Service’s project to reconstruct Norris to Golden Gate: $22 million for phase 3 of the Grand Loop Road project at Yellowstone National Park in Wyo.: The project will reconstruct a 0.7-mile segment of the Norris to Golden Gate roadway segment of the Grand Loop Road, install improvements to separate pedestrians from vehicular traffic, and upgrade vehicle pullouts and parking areas in the park according to a report from Idahocapitalsun.com.
- Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ Jack Springs Road project in Escambia County, Ala.: Funding totaling $24.1 million will be used to upgrade a dirt road to a paved road with wider lanes and shoulders, as well as for resurfacing, road expansion, the installation of sidewalks and shoulder rumble strips and intersection improvements.
- Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ greater rural access and highways to accelerate mobility project in Graham County, N.C.: As the grant recipient, the North Carolina Department of Transportation will use $20 million to construct a 12-mile portion of Corridor K of the Appalachian Development Highway System on behalf of the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians, the project sponsor.
- Reconnecting the Columbia River Highway project in Hood River, Ore.: As the grant recipient, the Oregon Department of Transportation will use the funding to complete a 37-year effort to restore and reconnect the 73-mile Historic Columbia River Highway and State Trail on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service, the project sponsor.
- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Crab Orchard Greenway Multimodal Network at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge project in Carterville, Ill. The $11.1 million allotted will help complete the Crab Orchard Greenway, a regional multimodal trail along the Illinois State Route 13 corridor and provide alternative transportation opportunities.
FHWA also announced $20.5 million in Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund grants for 80 projects. The full list of grant recipients can be found at Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund.
Source: U.S. Department of Transportation, Idahocapitalsun.com
