LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (KTHV) - The United States Department of Transportation announced that two Arkansas transportation projects will receive $45 million in BUILD Grants as part of $1.5 billion in discretionary funds earmarked for local or regional impact.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao today announced the grants were awarded via press release. The Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Grants program supports road, rail, transit and port infrastructure projects across the country.
“BUILD grants are major investments that will help create jobs and improve quality of life in large and small communities across our country,” Chao said.
The Arkansas Department of Transportation will receive $20 million for the Hot Springs Bypass Extension. The project will construct an extension of the Hot Springs East-West Arterial Bypass from the interchange of U.S. Highway 70 to the intersection of Highways 5 and 7. The bypass will consist of two 12-foot travel lanes and 8-foot shoulders.
The Northwest Arkansas Regional Planning Commission will receive $25 million for the I-49 Missouri-Arkansas Connector. The project will complete an approximately 4.8-mile, four-lane interstate facility in southwest Missouri that will bypass US-71 and connect to Interstate 49 in Arkansas.
Demand for BUILD grants far exceeded available funds, and the locally-driven nature of the applications was clear in their volume and geographic diversity. Eight hundred and fifty-one eligible applications from all 50 states, as well as U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia were sent in response to the BUILD Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO), nearly double the applications received in 2017.
Overall, applicants in 2018 requested more than $10.9 billion in funding.
The BUILD Transportation Grants re-balances what the Department of Transportation calls a ten-year, historical underinvestment in rural communities.
The Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2018 appropriated $1.5 billion for BUILD Transportation grants. For this round of BUILD Transportation grants, the maximum grant award is $25 million for a single project, and no more than $150 million can be awarded to a single state. There is a $5 million minimum award for projects located in urban areas and a $1 million minimum for rural projects.
