USDOT Announces $6 Million Grant for Los Angeles to Relieve Freight Congestion and Support Promise Zone |
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Federal Highway Administration
13 October 2016
FHWA 51-16 - Los Angeles
Thursday, October 13, 2016
Contact: Nancy Singer
Tel.: 202-366-0660
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation's (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced $6 million in grants for Los Angeles, California, to help fight freight congestion and support the city’s Promise Zone initiative.
The Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority (LACMTA), for the Freight Advanced Traveler Information System (FRATIS), and the Los Angeles Department of Transportation (LADOT), for the Promise Zone, each received a $3 million grant under FHWA’s Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) program.
“Transportation technology will help Los Angeles relieve freight congestion for America’s businesses and build a community where local residents can thrive,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “It’s about improving the quality of life for everyone and expanding access to transportation, jobs and opportunity.”
In collaboration with the Gateway Cities Council of Governments, the Port of Los Angeles, the Port of Long Beach and the Harbor Trucking Association, LACMTA will use the funds toward sophisticated automated systems for dispatching commercial vehicles and in-vehicle technologies that communicate with traffic signals to make acceleration and braking more efficient for trucks.
LADOT will use the funds toward the large-scale deployment of technology to allow traffic signal systems to detect red light-violating vehicles and adjust timing. The technology allows personal wireless devices to give the right of way to pedestrians at intersections and helps transit bus drivers operate more efficiently. The use of these advanced technologies will make it easier for residents in the Promise Zone to access to jobs, community services and education more safely.
“The funds will help make goods delivery more efficient throughout the city by allowing freight shippers to plan ahead with real-time information to avoid traffic jams, saving time and cost,” Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau said. “At the same we’re making driver, passenger and pedestrian travel much safer on streets in the Promise Zone.”
The ATCMTD program funds technologies that address the concerns outlined in Beyond Traffic, the USDOT report issued last year that examines the challenges facing America's transportation infrastructure over the next three decades, such as a rapidly growing population and increasing traffic.
The awards were part of a larger announcement totaling $56.6 million to fund advanced technologies various areas in the country. The ATCMTD program funds technologies that address the concerns outlined in Beyond Traffic, the USDOT report issued last year that examines the challenges facing America's transportation infrastructure over the next three decades, such as a rapidly growing population and increasing traffic.
ATCMTD was established under the “Fixing America's Surface Transportation” Act. State departments of transportation, local governments, transit agencies, metropolitan planning organizations and other eligible entities were invited to apply under the program.