The new federal “omnibus” appropriation bill, enacted March 23, provides over $86 billion for the U.S. Department of Transportation, a record funding amount and an increase of almost $10 billion from U.S. DOT’s FY ‘17 funding levels. Road, transit, and rail programs all see funding increases. The FY 18 funding levels show Congress’s commitment to robust federal investment for important state and local infrastructure projects.
TIGER
A new future for downtown Rochester: Removing the Inner Loop highway
After several unsuccessful TIGER applications, Rochester, NY underutilized urban Inner Loop, built in the 1960s, received 17.7 million dollars to facilitate the removal of the expressway and frontage roads and reconstruction as a parkway. A road once disparaged by the city itself as a “noose around the neck of downtown,” has been two decades in planning and will give way to a boulevard that will reconnect the city street grid, improve the business environment, and improve livability for Rochester’s residents.
Did previous TIGER grants allocate too much to bike-ped projects?
Some alternative transportation advocates believe legislative language could effectively ban bike and pedestrian projects from the 2012 TIGER Program. Along with the possibility that Transportation Enhancements, Recreational Trail, and Safe Routes to School dedicated funding …
California’s Green Trade Corridor project underway
Construction of California’s Green Trade Corridor, a TIGER grant funded project to increase the share of freight moving on inland waterways between the Port of Oakland and California’s Central Valley, began last fall. The project is …