Raleigh receives first federal full-funding grant agreement for BRT in North Carolina
- August 11, 2022
- Posted by: Jacob Rigg
- Category: Blog
Today, Thursday, August 11, 2022, was a very big day for transit in our region.
Congressman David Price and Congresswoman Deborah Ross jointly announced today that the Federal Transit Administration has awarded the City of Raleigh $35 million in federal funding to build bus rapid transit in Raleigh.
The $35 million in funding is the first federal full funding grant agreement for bus rapid transit in North Carolina — and the region’s first federal full funding grant agreement for any mode of transit. The funds will be used to develop North Carolina’s first bus rapid transit corridor, along New Bern Avenue from Downtown Raleigh to east of the I-440 beltline (map).
Congressman Price, the chair of the House Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee, noted that the funding “will help meet the need for reliable and diverse transportation options, especially as Raleigh and Wake County continue to experience rapid growth.” Congresswoman Ross echoed those thoughts, noting that Wake County is a “powerful economic engine for our state and region, and we need reliable, efficient transportation options to match our continuing growth”, calling it a “game-changer for our community”, benefiting residents, visitors, and businesses.
The corridor will create 10 new modern BRT stations served by 7 energy efficient BRT vehicles — creating more access for people of all income levels and ages.
RTA would like to thank Congressman Price, Congresswoman Ross, and our entire federal delegation for their continued support of improving the lives of Triangle residents through better public transportation options.
Implications for our region
BRT will be a very high frequency, quality service for current and new transit patrons alike, with dedicated lanes for large portions of all five of our proposed core BRT corridors in Wake and Orange counties. With the first corridor opening in just a few years, and others soon thereafter, the regional business community sometimes refers to BRT as our emerging “backbone rapid transit” network.
Given the quality of the transit experience our region will have upon implementation and expansion of BRT in Raleigh, Cary, Chapel Hill, Garner, and other area communities over the next few years, we believe that BRT might soon stand for “buses resembling trains”.
RTA looks forward to the implementation of BRT across our region, and we are also looking forward to, and supporting, the continued development and activation of our regional/commuter rail spines across our metropolitan area. We will need an effective and accelerated “both/and” transit solution if our growing region will continue to be successful from a mobility, quality of life, and economic mobility standpoint.
Joe Milazzo II, PE
RTA Executive Director
RTA is the voice of the regional business community on transportation
www.letsgetmoving.org