USDOT Awards $25.5MM in Rail-Related Rural Grants

“Rural communities face some of the toughest transportation challenges, yet are often left out of major federal investments, a pattern that we are changing that under President Biden’s leadership,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Dec. 12. “The grants we’re announcing today will make transportation in rural communities better, safer and more reliable.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) on Dec. 12 reported funding 18 projects—two freight rail-related—as part of its FY 2023-24 Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (Rural), which is distributing a total of $645.3 million to help communities “increase mobility, improve safety and generate regional economic growth.”

This is the Rural Program’s second year, and it “continues to be significantly oversubscribed,” said USDOT, with more than $7.4 billion in requests from 174 applicants.

Eligible projects include: a highway, bridge or tunnel project eligible under the National Highway Performance Program, Surface Transportation Block Grant, or Tribal Transportation Program; a highway freight project eligible under National Highway Freight Program; a highway safety improvement project, including a project to improve a “high risk rural road” as defined by the Highway Safety Improvement Program; a project on a publicly owned highway or bridge that “provides or increases access to an agricultural, commercial, energy, or intermodal facility that supports the economy of a rural area”; or a project to develop, establish, or maintain an integrated mobility management system, a transportation demand management system, or on-demand mobility services.

FY23-24 applications were evaluated based on multiple criteria, including project readiness, cost-effectiveness, and whether the project supported “critical goals like enhancing safety, increasing mobility and reliability, improving resiliency, and restoring infrastructure to a state of good repair,” according to USDOT, which noted that those applying for grants benefited from a streamlined application process that allowed them to submit one application for three different grant programs (Rural, Infrastructure for Rebuilding America/INFRA, and the new National Infrastructure Project Assistance Program/Mega). INFRA and Mega funding awards are expected to be announced in early 2024.

The rail-related projects receiving Rural funding are:

Millen (Ga.) Rail Crossing—The Georgia Department of Transportation will receive $12 million to implement three grade-separated rail crossings in Millen—one just north of the Norfolk Southern (NS) rail yard on SR 21/Millen Bypass and two on SR 67/17/East Winthrope Avenue—that USDOT said will improve both residential and freight mobility in the area. “This project will improve residents’ daily access to local [Jenkins County] schools, employment centers and social services while minimizing delays, as east-west travel is currently impeded by about 10 trains a day [with an average speed of 10 mph], many of increasing length from the Port of Savannah,” the Department reported. “Intermodal freight mobility in the area will be improved, strengthening our nation’s supply chain, as trucks [on the primary agricultural route] cannot use the existing overpass. Additionally, the construction of these grade-separated crossings will allow for improved safety and reduce opportunities for trespassing.” (In a related development, the Georgia Ports Authority Board on Dec. 5 approved $127 million to build the Blue Ridge connector, an inland rail terminal in Gainesville, Ga., linking Northeast Georgia with the Port of Savannah’s 35 global container ship services.)

Bluefield (W.Va.): Restoring Railroad Roots with an Intermodal Facility—The West Virginia Department of Transportation will receive $13.48 million construct an overpass bridge and make road improvements on the approach to an intermodal facility. According to USDOT, the project will replace an existing one lane, signal-controlled railroad underpass (Old Bramwell Road/County Route 11/Midway Tunnel) with an overpass that includes separated pedestrian and bicycle accommodations. The proposed award is less than the $21,250,000 requested, USDOT said, “but the applicant will complete a revised project scope.” The 128-year-old Midway Tunnel is a 195-foot-long underpass that travels under eight NS tracks and associated rail yard. “Replacing the underpass with an overpass will facilitate development of an intermodal facility as it can accommodate trucks, and also reconnects the disadvantaged Midway community located along Old Bramwell Road and the rest of Bluefield, which are separated by the railroad,” USDOT said.

“Rural communities face some of the toughest transportation challenges, yet are often left out of major federal investments, a pattern that we are changing that under President Biden’s leadership,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “The grants we’re announcing today will make transportation in rural communities better, safer and more reliable.”

USDOT added that it expects to announce the recipients of this round of INFRA and Mega funding early next year. 

Download below the complete list of projects in 18 states, which also include Arizona, Colorado, Georgia, Iowa, Illinois, Maine, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Montana, North Dakota, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming: