Press Release 11/19/21
WASHINGTON – U.S. Secretary Pete Buttigieg today announced that the Biden Administration will award $10.3 million to the city of Atlantic City through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grants program. The total FY 21 RAISE investment in American infrastructure was nearly $1 billion, awarded to 90 projects in 47 states, 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,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “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 broad range of stakeholders. Within these criteria, the grants reflect the Department’s priorities for creating good-paying jobs, improving safety, applying transformative technology, and explicitly addressing climate change and advancing racial equity.
The city of Atlantic City will receive $10.3 million for the Atlantic City Corridor Revitalization & Safety project, which will implement complete street improvements on approximately 2.7 miles of Atlantic Avenue in downtown Atlantic City, from Albany Avenue to Maine Avenue including reducing lanes; adding ADA accessible sidewalks, drainage facilities, new bike paths; improving clear sight lines; adding intersection synchronized signalization, wayfinding, LED streetlighting and upgrading accessibility to transit stops. The project also includes improvements on the parallel Arctic and Pacific Avenues.
Fiscal Year 2021 RAISE Transportation discretionary grants are for planning and capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and were awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant local or regional impact. RAISE funding supports roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports or intermodal transportation.
Per statute, the Department is awarding 50% of RAISE Transportation grant funding to projects located in rural areas and 50% to urban areas that deliver positive benefits for these communities. For this round of RAISE Transportation discretionary grants, the maximum grant award is $25 million, and no more than $100 million can be awarded to a single State, as specified in the appropriations act.
