LINCOLN, NE — U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announces that the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded $39.3 million to support two projects in Nebraska from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program to help move forward on projects that modernize roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, and intermodal transportation and make the transportation systems safer, more accessible, more affordable, and more sustainable. This year’s total allocations nationwide include more than $2.2 billion due to the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, which provides an additional $7.5 billion over five years for the program to help meet the demand to help projects get moving across the country.

“We are proud to support so many outstanding infrastructure projects in communities large and small, modernizing America’s transportation systems to make them safer, more affordable, more accessible, and more sustainable,” Buttigieg said. “Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this year we are supporting more projects than ever before.”

Projects were evaluated on several criteria, including safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness and opportunity, partnership and collaboration, innovation, state of good repair, and mobility and community connectivity. Within these areas, the department considered how projects will improve accessibility for all travelers, bolster supply chain efficiency, and support racial equity and economic growth — especially in historically disadvantaged communities and areas of persistent poverty.

In Nebraska, the following projects will benefit from RAISE awards:

The City of York will receive $15.6 million to build pedestrian safety infrastructure for the City of York, including a pedestrian overpass over Highway 81 that divides the city, pedestrian trails for access to essential destinations, and safe crosswalks for schools. The project encourages active and affordable transportation through reduced vehicle dependence, makes it safer for students to walk to school, and will adopt a universal design approach to ensure accessibility for all.The City of Lincoln will receive $23.6 million to complete the planning and construction of the Lincoln Multimodal Transit Center. The new center will include approximately 18 bus bays, protected passenger boarding, better lighting, covered walkways, a waiting room, administrative offices, and safety offices. The project will improve safety for travelers with new security features and better separation between pedestrians and buses. The updated facility will be more environmentally sustainable and include electrification infrastructure that supports lower-emitting modes of transportation. The project includes outreach and engagement with public and private entities and seeks to ensure equity considerations are included in the planning and construction of the new center.

• 2022 RAISE grants are for planning and capital investments that support roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, or intermodal transportation.
• 50 percent of funding is designated for projects in rural areas, and 50 percent of funding is designated for projects in urban areas.
• Nearly two-thirds of projects are located in areas of persistent poverty or historically disadvantaged communities.
• The largest grant award is $25 million. Per statute, no more than $341.25 million could be awarded to a single state in this round of funding.
• Among this year’s selected projects, 11 included a local hire provision.
• Several projects include workforce development aspects including four projects that have project labor agreements, eight projects that have registered apprenticeship programs, and an additional eight projects with other workforce development provisions.