Posts Tagged ‘transportation funding’

The state of Maryland has been awarded a $1.3 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation to complete construction of a new station on a commuter rail line serving Aberdeen Proving Ground. About 8,200 new positions came to the proving ground as a result of BRAC 2005, bringing the installation’s workforce to 22,000. The grant will pay for converting the Edgewood, Md., station from a platform to a fully functioning MARC station …

The Presidio Parkway Project, which will provide a series of upgrades to the highway connecting San Francisco to the Golden Gate Bridge, will be financed through a public-private partnership, the California Department of Transportation announced last week. Caltrans, in cooperation with the San Francisco County Transportation Authority, closed on financing for the $1.1 billion deal last week. The deal with a private European consortium will be the first transportation public-private partnership in California under a 2009 state law …

The state of Maryland will spend nearly $9 million for intersection improvements to increase traffic flow to and from Aberdeen Proving Ground, Lt. Governor Anthony Brown announced this week. Traffic in Aberdeen already has grown exponentially since thousands of employees moved to the area as a result of BRAC 2005. The funding will cover the purchase of land needed to improve one intersection and the relocation of utilities required to improve another. Further funding, however, will be required to complete the construction, reported BelAir Patch. “Our commitment to BRAC remains strong as we understand that BRAC in Maryland means more jobs, a stronger economy and a valuable contribution to our national security,” said Brown, chair of the Governor’s BRAC subcabinet.

The Department of Defense is considering improving and expanding the Defense Access Roads program, according to the committee report accompanying the fiscal 2013 military construction and veterans affairs spending bill approved by the Senate Appropriations Committee on Tuesday. The changes are intended to address the strict eligibility requirements of the program, which is the only mechanism DOD has for upgrading roads outside of military installations. To be eligible for aid through the DAR program, an installation must demonstrate that traffic congestion for commuters has doubled, an extremely high hurdle for urban areas to satisfy …

The state of Florida will have $4.6 million to spend on programs supporting its defense installations in the fiscal year starting July 1, a funding stream which will allow the state to continue its longstanding support for the military. The state budget signed last month by Gov. Rick Scott allocates $2.6 million for Florida’s three primary grant programs, an amount which was exceeded only once since the beginning of fiscal year 2008-2009 …

A Northern Virginia planning organization is investing $600,000 in a pilot ride-sharing program intended to encourage drivers to Fort Belvoir, the Mark Center or Marine Corps Base Quantico to car pool as a way to reduce congestion on the region’s congested highways stemming from BRAC. The real-time, ride-sharing program, which is open to military employees and contractors, relies on a smart phone app to allow commuter to find rides, akin to the informal “slugging” system which commuters use to get a lift on I-95 …

The state of Washington last week was awarded a $15 million grant by the U.S. Department of Transportation to improve the traffic flow on I-5 near Joint Base Lewis-McChord through the use of innovative traffic management strategies. The project is intended to add capacity to the interstate by managing demand and providing real-time information to drivers on the heavily congested, 15-mile-long corridor …

The Northern Virginia congressional delegation celebrated a long-fought victory Friday, after language capping parking at the Mark Center in Alexandria was included in the conference agreement for the fiscal 2012 omnibus spending bill reached last week. The provision limits parking at the complex to roughly 2,000 spaces until DOD can demonstrate that congestion hasn’t reached failing levels at intersections surrounding the complex …

Language urging DOD to expand funding for public transportation improvements needed to accommodate military growth is included in the conference agreement for the fiscal 2012 defense authorization bill. The provision calls for the Economic Adjustment Committee to meet within 90 days after the legislation is enacted to consider additional funding sources for the Defense Access Roads program …

Virginia lawmakers renewed their calls to limit parking at the Mark Center, following a report from DOD’s inspector general that revealed serious flaws in the Army’s analysis of the traffic impacts that would result from moving 6,400 DOD headquarters workers to the Alexandria complex. So far only 2,300 employees have moved into the building, but traffic already has been reduced to minimum acceptable standards …