Government

DOT Releases First ARRA Funds For High-Speed Lines

The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act’s $8 billion for high-speed rail (HSR) has begun to flow to states. The U.S. Dept. of Transportation said on May 27 it had disbursed the first $79.6 million of the ARRA aid. With $7.9 billion still to go, further installments will be released in coming weeks. DOT announced on Jan. 28 which states won shares of the $8 billion but had to reach grant agreements before disbursing the money.

Florida receives $66.6 million for program management and preliminary engineering for a Tampa-Orlando line. California gets $6.2 million to relocate tracks between San Francisco and Sacramento. Wisconsin receives $5.7 million for environmental studies of new stations. New York gets $1 million, and New Mexico gets $100,000.

Pam Hunter McFarland was a Senior Editor of ENR and her expertise was: Sourcebooks, Environment, Labor

As ENR's former Washington Bureau Chief, Tom Ichniowski wrote about the federal government since the George H.W. Bush administration, and covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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