New grant program to help fund transportation improvement technologies

The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) this week announced the availability of $60 million in grants this year to fund "cutting-edge technologies" designed to improve the return on investment in transportation safety, efficiency, system performance and infrastructure.

The funding is available through the new Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment Program (ATCMTD), which was established under the FAST Act, the multiyear surface transportation funding bill that Congress passed late last year.

The program was created to address concerns outlined in "Beyond Traffic," the U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) report issued last year that examined the challenges to the nation's transportation infrastructure as the population and traffic increases over the next 30 years, according to a USDOT press release.

"This program will take technological innovation to a new level and help to make the entire transportation network more reliable for commuters, businesses, and freight shippers," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "An efficient transportation system is the foundation of a strong economy."

ATCMTD grants may be used for projects that use real-time traveler information traffic data collection and dissemination, vehicle-to-infrastructure and an array of other dynamic systems and intelligent transportation system technologies.

Grant applicants may be state or local governments, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations representing a population of more than 200,000, or other political subdivisions of a state or local government, such as publicly owned port authorities, according to the notice of funding.

Partnerships with the private sector or public entities are encouraged.