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First spherical of grant awards, funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation, helps initiatives to enhance employee security, make transit extra dependable, and help native enterprise districts
WASHINGTON – At this time, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg introduced the primary spherical of grants totaling over $94 million for 59 initiatives throughout the nation via the brand new Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program. The aggressive grant program, established by President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Legislation, offers State, native, and Tribal governments $500 million over 5 years to leverage know-how to create safer, extra equitable, environment friendly, and revolutionary transportation methods.
“Each main development within the historical past of U.S. transportation has concerned technological progress,” mentioned U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The investments we’re making at the moment are about fostering improvements that enhance folks’s day-to-day lives, making transportation safer, extra dependable, extra environment friendly, and extra sustainable.”
The funding will help a various array of matters and communities:
- 5 State DOTs are engaged on initiatives that can enhance security for employees and drivers in work zones, together with a multi-state collaboration that can deploy Automated Truck-Mounted Crash Attenuators, and initiatives that can leverage the Work Zone Information Change (WZDx) Specification. Moreover, over a dozen different SMART initiatives handle employee security.
- A lot of initiatives will assist enhance transit reliability, velocity, and fare fee, making the expertise extra seamless for riders. Initiatives in Alabama, Georgia, Connecticut, and New York will concentrate on transit innovation with investments in knowledge integration, transit incentives, and accessibility instruments.
- The Metropolis of Cleveland and others will show good visitors sign applied sciences together with Automated Visitors Sign Efficiency Measures and transit and emergency car sign precedence.
- Cities throughout the U.S. together with Buffalo, Los Angeles, Minneapolis, Philadelphia, and Portland will leverage sensors and knowledge to assist cities perceive and enhance curb administration practices by allocating their curb house to greatest serve native companies, facilitate deliveries, and combine with transit and energetic transportation.
- Communities in Maine, Colorado, and Massachusetts will concentrate on good grid initiatives to put together their communities for extra widespread adoption of electrical autos together with vehicles, buses, and plane and floor autos at airports.
- Sensor deployments will allow new knowledge assortment and operational approaches, starting from a flood warning system in Harris County, Texas, to crash detection in Nashville, to improved security at Seattle’s at-grade rail crossings.
- Uncrewed Plane Methods (UAS) initiatives will leverage revolutionary aviation know-how for infrastructure inspections in Alaska, California, and Kansas, in addition to medical package deal deliveries alongside Virginia’s Japanese Shore and within the Mandan, Hidatsa and Arikara Nation.
- The Michigan Division of Transportation and Whatcom Council of Governments will combine sensors and knowledge to facilitate commerce at worldwide border crossings, strengthening provide chains, decreasing delays, and minimizing congestion impacts within the Midwest and Pacific Northwest.
- Related car initiatives in states together with Arizona, Michigan, Texas, and Utah will deploy connectivity demonstrations that target matters like transit prioritization and security for pedestrians and cyclists.
The primary 12 months of this system was oversubscribed with $6 of functions for each $1 obtainable for grants. “We’re thrilled to see the curiosity in SMART throughout its inaugural 12 months. This reveals the vital position this new program can play in serving to help State, native, and Tribal efforts to advance know-how functions,” mentioned Dr. Robert C. Hampshire, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Analysis and Expertise and Chief Science Officer.
This 12 months’s awardees will construct inside groups and partnerships as they refine their ideas, concentrate on know-how procurement and demonstration, develop labor and workforce roadmaps, and place their initiatives for impression of their communities.
The complete checklist of awards totaling $94,783,781 could be considered here. The utmost award per mission was $2,000,000 for this spherical of funding. The subsequent funding alternative of $100 million is predicted to be launched Fall, 2023.
An interactive map depicting all SMART initiatives could be discovered here.
For extra info on the SMART Grants Program, join the SMART e-newsletter on the program website or attain out to smart@dot.gov.
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