$6 Million RAISE Grant will improve safety in a known crash hot-spot and transportation connections to education and job opportunities

FHWA 31-22
Contact: FHWA.PressOffice@dot.gov
Tel: (202) 366-0660

Winston-Salem, NC – Today, FHWA Acting Administrator Stephanie Pollack announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded a $6 million grant from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to the City of Winston-Salem, North Carolina to construct an approximately 1.2-mile extension of the Long Branch Trail along the North Carolina Department of Transportation rail corridor from Martin Luther King Jr. Drive to 25th Street. The project will implement safety features and improve transportation connectivity in an underserved community, increase access to education centers in the project area, and connect residents to job opportunities.

“The City of Winston-Salem’s Long Branch Trail Extension is a great example of federal investment from the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law supporting the best locally grown ideas,” said Acting Federal Highway Administrator Stephanie Pollack. “The extension to the Long Branch Trail will nearly double the length of the existing trail, expand transportation options for residents in underserved communities and connect people to jobs and other important opportunities in downtown Winston-Salem.”

“Thanks to the RAISE Grant the city will be able to move this project off the drawing board and get it under construction,” said Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines. “When completed, this extension of the Long Branch Trail will not only provide a new way for our citizens to get downtown; it will create new recreation opportunities because they will be connected to the core of our city-wide greenway system.”

This announcement is part of the Biden-Harris Administration’s Building a Better America Tour that Secretary Pete Buttigieg kicked off in Tampa, FL on August 23rd. The tour will see DOT leaders fan out to show how the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering safe, efficient, and affordable transportation for communities across the country.

This grant is part of the Department of Transportation’s program that helps urban and rural communities modernize roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, and intermodal transportation and make transportation safer, more accessible, more affordable, and more sustainable. This year, Secretary Pete Buttigieg awarded over $2.2 billion in RAISE grants to 166 projects in all 50 states thanks to the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

“We are proud to support so many outstanding infrastructure projects in communities large and small, modernizing America’s transportation systems to make them safer, more affordable, more accessible, and more sustainable,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Using funds from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, this year we are supporting more projects than ever before.”

North Carolina’s Transportation Secretary J. Eric Boyette added: “We are thankful our federal leadership recognizes that connectivity is a vital part of transportation infrastructure. Extending this trail will repurpose an inactive NCDOT-owned rail corridor and expand connections to jobs, education and health care opportunities.”

Listed below are additional grants totaling $60.2 million that Secretary Buttigieg awarded to North Carolina:

• The Flow Better (Fixing Low Water Bridges for Emergency, Transportation, Technology, Equity and Resilience) Project managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation will reconstruct approximately 28 bridges across six rural, western North Carolina counties. By replacing low water bridges, the community will have safer access to essential destinations, reliable transportation for emergency response, and fewer road closures due to flooding.
   
• The Partnership for Active Regional Transportation and Neighborhood Equity Project managed by the North Carolina Department of Transportation will transform the Charlotte Road and Main Street Corridor into a Complete Street from Maple Street in Rutherfordton to Oakland Road in Spindale. The project is approximately 2.5 miles long and includes road improvements and various bicycle, pedestrian, and transit improvements to improve safety for all residents.
   
• The Weeksville Road Accessibility & Connectivity Plan in the City of Elizabeth City will fund the engineering and design of approximately 3.6-mile multi-use path on Weeksville Road (NC 344) and add sidewalks and paths on key local connectors to the NC 344 corridor. This project will increase transportation options in the community by allowing options to walk and bike which will decrease vehicle miles traveled, reduce emissions and help improve quality of life for residents.
   
• The North Carolina Regional S-Line Mobility Hub Plan in the Town of Wake Forest will fund the planning of mobility hubs in seven communities along the passenger rail S-Line. The project will increase access to active transportation options, commuter rail and transit services.
   
• A New Intermodal Facility-Port of Wilmington Project managed by the North Carolina State Ports Authority will construct a state-of-the-art area for loading and discharging containers on and off the rail at the Port of Wilmington. This will create a dedicated and safe area for loading and discharging containers on and off the rail at the port to reduce vehicle miles traveled and support efficient transportation design.

The full list of awards can be found here.

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