The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) has awarded a $330.8 million American Rescue Plan (ARP) Act of 2021 grant to the San Francisco Bay Area Rapid Transit District (BART) and a $304.2 million ARP grant to the Denver Regional Transportation District (RTD).
All agencies that receive Urbanized Area Formula Grants from the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) have certified that their safety plans were in place by June 20, 2021, the deadline for FTA’s 2018 rule.
The International Transportation Learning Center (ITLC) has been awarded $5 million to establish and run the Federal Transit Administration’s (FTA) first Transit Workforce Center, which will help agencies nationwide recruit, hire, train and retain employees.
The Chicago (Ill.) Department of Transportation (CDOT) has released a strategic transportation plan that it’s calling “the nation’s first” urban plan developed in the wake of the pandemic, economic and racial justice crises of 2020. Also, the Federal Transit Administration (FTA) is now accepting applications for its Outstanding Achievement Award for Excellence in Environmental Document Preparation.
The U.S. Department of Transportation reported on June 11 that 22 transit projects in the Capital Investment Grants (CIG) program will receive a total of $250 million in American Rescue Plan funding allocations; four are rail-related and will receive a total of $64.9 million.
Democrats on the U.S. House of Representatives Transportation and Infrastructure Committee released a $547 billion, five-year surface transportation reauthorization bill on June 4.
Caltrain’s launch of electrified service will be delayed two years, until late 2024, due to “complications in the installation of signal systems, unforeseen conditions under Caltrain’s tracks, and the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, which severely disrupted supply chains necessary to the project.”
The Santa Clara Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) has shortlisted three joint ventures to undertake the estimated $2 billion tunnel and trackwork contract for the Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) Silicon Valley Phase 2 (BSV2) extension project.
Resurrecting a position that was abolished more than 40 years ago, the U.S. Department of Transportation is appointing a Chief Science Officer for the entire agency, and has taken additional steps “to act on the Biden-Harris Administration’s commitment to address the climate emergency and restore scientific integrity.” And the Federal Transit Administration has made available $10 million in TOD (transit-oriented development) planning grant funds.
The competition for federal transit grants is stiff. HDR’s Mark Fuhrmann offers guidance on how to navigate the process.