California, Midwest, Florida Lead Winners of High-Speed Rail Grants
California is the top winner but Midwest states and Florida also scored big in states' fierce competition for $8 billion in federal grants to build high-speed-rail lines around the country.
The White House released a list of awards on Jan. 28, [see full list pdf attached] shortly before President Obama and Vice-President Biden were scheduled to make a formal announcement in Tampa.
The funding is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, signed into law last February. The largest awards went for rail corridors or corridor segments. Smaller grants went for individual rail projects.
The U.S. Dept. of Transportation was flooded with applications for the rail funds, receiving $57 billion in proposals. That includes $50 billion in rail-corridor proposals submitted by 24 states; and $7 billion from 34 states for specific projects.
| STATE | GRANT |
|---|---|
| California | $2.344 billion |
| Florida (Tampa-Orlando) | $1.25 billion |
| Illinois (Chicago-St. Louis) | $1.1 billion |
| Wisconsin (Milwaukee-Madison; Milwaukee airport) | $822 million |
| Washington state (Seattle-Portland) | $590 million |
| North Carolina (Raleigh-Charlotte; other projects) | $545 million |
| Ohio (Cleveland-Columbus-Cincinnati) | $400 million |
| Michigan (station renovations; other projects) | $244 million |
| New York (NYC-Albany-Buffalo) | $151 million |
| Northeast Corridor (R.I., N.J., Md., D.C.) | $112 million |
| Virginia (Washington-Richmond) | $75 million |
| Massachusetts (Springfield-East Northfield) | $70 million |
| Vermont (Springfield, Mass.-St.Albans) | $50 million |
| Connecticut (New Haven-Springfield, Mass.) | $40 million |
| Maine (Brunswick-Portland) | $35 million |
| Pennsylvania (Philadelphia-Harrisburg-Pittsburgh) | $27 million |
