USDOT: Biden-Harris Administration Announces More than $52 Million in Advanced Technology Grants to Improve Safety and Reduce Travel Times

Thursday, May 25, 2023


Executive Summary:

  • The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has announced grants worth over $52 million from the Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) program.
  • The grants aim to improve the travel experience for users of highway and transit systems by implementing technology-based solutions.
  • The grants will support intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies to enhance mobility and safety, including real-time traffic information, transit signal timing systems, and seamless transit payment systems.
  • The program, originally established as the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) Program, has been renamed ATTAIN under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL).

Unedited Press Release Text:

Funded by President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, projects include real-time traffic information, transit signal timing systems, and seamless transit payment systems

WASHINGTON – Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced more than $52 million in grants for eight states from the Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) program. As part of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, the grants will fund technology-based solutions that improve the travel experience for millions of Americans who use our highway and transit systems, with expanded eligibility for projects in communities that have previously lacked investments, including rural areas and areas of persistent poverty.

“Your zip code shouldn’t determine whether you have access to safe, affordable transportation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With President Biden’s investments in innovative technology, we’re helping communities make transportation safer and more efficient, particularly in places that haven’t received enough resources in the past.”

The program promotes advanced technologies to improve safety and reduce travel times for drivers and transit riders that can serve as national examples of innovation to improve access to transportation for all communities.

“These grants will help deliver a more leading-edge transportation system designed to reach everyone and to work for everyone, especially those in communities that have lacked access to efficient transportation,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “Whether we’re addressing climate change, or making roads safer, President Biden’s Investing in America agenda is bringing critical solutions to the communities we serve.”

The eight selected projects will help advance intelligent transportation systems (ITS) technologies that improve mobility and safety. The projects include the extension of real-time traffic information and signal timing systems, including for transit, along with other advanced technologies.

ATTAIN FY 2022 Project Selections
More information is available here: Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Key Programs under the Federal Highway Administration Office of Operations

State/RecipientProject NameAwardProject Description
Arizona – Mohave CountyVehicle-to-Infrastructure Enabled Rural Highway Traffic Control Signs$1,000,000Mohave County will receive funding to deploy 50 vehicle-to-infrastructure (V2I) traffic control sign systems throughout rural areas of the county targeted to high-speed highway segments and intersection approaches to improve safety. The project area includes opportunity zones and disadvantaged communities.
California – California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)Southern California Mobility Wallet$7,722,948Caltrans will receive funding to deploy its “Southern California Mobility Wallet” project for open-loop payments technology to offer seamless payment to highway and transit services for Los Angeles County residents. The project area includes areas of persistent poverty and disadvantaged communities.
Delaware – Delaware Department of TransportationDelaware’s Traffic Management and Safety Traffic Management and Safety for Flooding Roadways and Vulnerable Road Users (AIITMS Flood & VRU)$5,000,000Delaware DOT will receive funding for a project in rural Sussex County to improve safety by optimizing transportation systems before and during flood events. The project uses advanced technologies to improve detection of local road users, including pedestrians and bicyclists.
Maryland – Maryland Department of TransportationROUTE on US 50$11,935,000Maryland DOT will receive funding to deploy new technologies and traffic sensors for traffic prediction, signal timing, curve warning and other messaging to improve safety and mobility along 113 miles of U.S. Route 50. The project area includes disadvantaged communities. 
Massachusetts – Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA)Boston Regional Transit Signal Priority Program$2,960,000The MBTA will receive funding for the Boston Regional Transit Signal Priority (TSP) Program to make transit service more reliable and efficient. The project includes transit-dependent but underserved communities in the Boston area.
Michigan – University of MichiganAdvanced Transportation Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) Program “ATTAIN AACE 2.0: The Ann Arbor Connected Environment Reimagined”$9,859,240The University of Michigan Transportation Research Institute (UMTRI) will receive funding to ready the infrastructure for vehicle manufacturing collaborators to test and deploy new technologies under the Ann Arbor Connected Environment (AACE) 2.0 project. The project will use cellular vehicle-to-everything (C-V2X) technology.
Minnesota – Department of Iron Range Resources & RehabilitationMinnesota’s Autonomous Rural Transit Initiative (MARTI) $9,302,812The Minnesota Department of Iron Range Resources and Rehabilitation (IRRR) will receive funding to expand the current MARTI pilot, a free on-demand automated micro-transit service in Grand Rapids, to make transit services more reliant, convenient and accessible in rural communities, including for wheelchair users. The project area includes disadvantaged communities.
Utah – Utah Department of TransportationUtah Connected Communities$5,000,000The Utah Department of Transportation will receive funding for its Connected Communities program to expand connected vehicle technology and capabilities, including V2X, statewide. The project area includes disadvantaged communities, project rural and urban parts of Utah.
 Grand Total$52,780,000 

The program was first established in the FAST Act as the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) Program. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law amended the ATCMTD Program and renamed it the Advanced Transportation Technologies and Innovative Mobility Deployment Program, or ATTAIN.

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SOURCE: https://www.transportation.gov/briefing-room/biden-harris-administration-announces-more-52-million-advanced-technology-grants


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