The Shadow
WASHINGTON (The Virginian Review) – U.S. Sens. Mark R. Warner and Tim Kaine (both D-VA) announced $76,095,720 in federal grant funding for four transportation infrastructure projects that will expand passenger rail, reduce traffic congestion, and strengthen infrastructure across Virginia.
“From passenger rail services to roads and waterways, countless travelers and goods move through the Commonwealth every day, and Virginia commuters and businesses deserve infrastructure that can keep up,” said the senators. “We’re proud to have secured this funding that will modernize transportation, ease congestion, support economic growth, and create a stronger infrastructure system that can help Virginians move quickly and safely.”
This funding is awarded through the Department of Transportation (DOT)’s Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Grant Program, which is made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that the senators helped negotiate and pass. This funding also follows Warner’s support for Middlesex County’s application for the Broad Creek-Chesapeake Bay Access Project and the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority’s application for the Richmond Layover Facility.
The grant awards include:
- $25,000,000 for the Potomac and Rappahannock Transportation Commission’s L’Enfant Station and Fourth Track Project to improve the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) L’Enfant rail station and add a fourth main track in the adjacent railroad corridor between the L’Enfant and Virginia interlockings, increasing capacity for commuter and intercity passenger rail services.
- $25,000,000 for the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority to complete final design and construction of the Richmond Layover Facility, which will provide overnight storage and servicing space needed to support existing and future passenger rail service. The project includes three storage tracks, one maintenance platform, a service pit covered by a canopy, upgrades to the existing railroad signal system for entering and exiting the site, roadway improvements for access into the facility, a parking lot for staff, and a site building for equipment storage and staff facilities.
- $24,500,000 for the city of Lynchburg’s US 501/US 221 Intersection Improvements Project to design and construct a split one-way pair intersection that would divide existing two-way traffic on US 501 on two separate roadways at the intersection with US 221, as well as additional through lanes and turn lanes on US 501 and US 221, sidewalks, ADA improvements, a shared-use path, pedestrian crossing signals, a new flyover bridge that will eliminate an existing signal to the north of the proposed split pair, landscaping, stormwater improvements, roadway lighting, and a new transit stop. The project will ease congestion while improving safety and accessibility for drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and transit users.
- $1,595,720 for Middlesex County’s Broad Creek-Chesapeake Bay Access Project to complete construction-ready designs for the redevelopment of the Broad Creek working waterfront, strengthening critical connections between the Chesapeake Bay and Virginia’s freight network.
Sens. Warner and Kaine have secured hundreds of millions of dollars in federal funding for infrastructure improvements across the Commonwealth, many of the grants made possible by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law – a transformative investment in American infrastructure needs. In June, the senators announced a $1 million investment in affordable, transit-accessible housing in Norfolk, more than $310 million to reduce traffic congestion in Hampton Roads, and more than $32 million to modernize eight airports across Virginia.
