FAST Act Plans
December 4, 2015 should be a day to remember for those involved with the USA highway system when President Obama signed a bill into law authorizing $305 billion in federal funds over the next five years for rail, highway development, public transportation and motor vehicle/motor carrier safety.
The FAST ACT, otherwise known as Fixing America’s Surface Transportation, grows from the national freight strategy, expanding our Nation’s Freight System from 27,000 miles to 41,000 miles.
These extra miles will improve connections between major highways with intermodal rail terminals and ports.
Photo Source from the Official DOT Blog
Lawmakers approved $305 billion in highway funding.
Some allocations over the next 5 years include:
$205 billion – highways
$48 billion – transit projects
$10.8 billion – grants for freight projects
$4.5 billion – freight and highway grant program, where legislation offers funding for things that improve connectivity among modes and reduce congestion, as well as highway freight projects such as at-grade crossings and grade separations
$500 million – intermodal and freight rail projects
$6.3 billion – highway freight grant program that will distribute funding to each state based on a specific formula on the proportion of the number of miles freight travels within that state, which is similar to programs already in place nationwide.
Some plans in the making:
The Georgia Port Authority – $44 million
Port of Savannah – $84 million
Massport, Massachusetts Port Authority – $42 million
PANYNJ, Port of New York and New Jersey – $10.67 million
Port Authority of Maine – $7.72
In all, Congress will spend $800 million on FAST related projects this year.
To read more on details of each project, visit American Journal of Transportation.
Official Blog of the U.S. Department of Transportation View Summary of the FAST ACT
