CHARLOTTE, NC — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announces that the Biden Administration will invest nearly $1 billion in American infrastructure through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grants program. The funding has been awarded to 90 projects in 47 states and the District of Columbia and Guam.

“We’re proud to support these great projects that will improve infrastructure, strengthen supply chains, make us safer, advance equity, and combat climate change,” Buttigieg said. “As in past years, we received far more applications than we could fund; this cycle saw about a ten-to-one ratio of requests to available dollars. But going forward, with the passage of President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we will be able to support far more infrastructure projects to support jobs and everyday life in communities across the country."

The program selection criteria encompassed safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, innovation, and partnerships with a range of stakeholders. Within these criteria, the grants reflect the department’s priorities for creating good-paying jobs, improving safety, applying technology, and addressing climate change and advancing racial equity.

Listed below is an example of FY21 in the Construction area:

The City of Charlotte, North Carolina will receive $15 million to construct a new multimodal transit center to replace the existing open-air bus terminal in downtown Charlotte. The new transit center will include an underground bus concourse with connections to LYNX Blue Line light rail, the CityLYNX Gold Line streetcar, local and regional bus service, and a new bicycle and pedestrian trail. The City of Charlotte intends to develop new retail and office space atop the new facility once completed.

The redesigned terminal will eliminate the need for riders to cross active bus lanes to access various bus stops and will improve street-level access with signalized crosswalks. By constructing the new transit hub underground, the project supports additional development in a dense and transit-rich area of Charlotte.