Biden-Harris Administration Announces Over $108 Million in Transportation Investments to Improve Infrastructure and Road Safety on Federal and Tribal Lands

WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced over $108 million in grant awards for 85 projects that will improve transportation and reduce roadway fatalities and serious injuries 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 in a series of efforts by the Biden-Harris Administration 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. “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 Assistant Secretary for Tribal Government Affairs Arlando Teller. “This funding can improve roads, intersections, sidewalks and bike paths in these communities for all who use them.” 
 
“These grants are yet another example of the Biden-Harris Administration’s efforts to help those who live, work, and travel on Federal and Tribal lands by making their journeys safer,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “This funding will also improve mobility, access, and economic opportunity in dozens of communities.”  
 
At an event at Yellowstone National Park today, FHWA Administrator Bhatt announced $88 million in grants to five projects nationwide under the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program, specifically:

• $22 million for the National Park Service’s Reconstruct Norris to Golden Gate: Phase 3 of the Grand Loop Road project at Yellowstone National Park in Wyoming. 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. 
• $24.1 million for the Poarch Band of Creek Indians’ Jack Springs Road project in Escambia County, Alabama. Funding 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.  
• $20 million for the Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians’ Greater Rural Access and Highways to Accelerate Mobility project in Graham County, North Carolina. As the grant recipient, the North Carolina Department of Transportation will use the funding 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.
• $11 million for the Reconnecting the Historic Columbia River Highway project in Hood River, Oregon. Funding will be used by the Oregon Department of Transportation on behalf of the U.S. Forest Service, the project sponsor, to complete a 37-year effort to restore and reconnect the 73-mile Historic Columbia River Highway and State Trail. 
• $11.1 million for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Crab Orchard Greenway Multimodal Network at Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge project in Carterville, Illinois. The project will help complete the Crab Orchard Greenway, a continuous regional multimodal trail along the Illinois Route 13 corridor, and provide alternative transportation opportunities to several communities near Carterville.

 
FHWA also announced $20.5 million in Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund grants for 80 projects today. The full list of grant recipients can be found at Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund.  
 
President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides up to $355 million per year in Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects for Fiscal Years (FY) 2022-2026. The law also modifies the program by requiring that half of all funding go to projects on Tribal transportation facilities and increases the Federal share of Tribal transportation facility projects to 100 percent. The infrastructure law also provides the largest funding level ever for the Tribal Transportation Program, increasing the amount authorized from $2.4 billion to $3 billion for FY 2022-2026.
 
In the coming weeks, FHWA expects to make additional funding available under the Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program through a Notice of Funding Opportunity. To obtain updates on this and other future funding opportunities, please sign up for the Office of Tribal Transportation mailing list.
 
To further assist the 574 Federally Recognized Tribes and their transportation priorities, FHWA has developed a Transportation Funding Opportunities for Tribal Nations guide which provides information on new highway programs created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as existing highway and bridge transportation funding programs.
 

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