DALLAS – Forty-nine states will receive a boost in their federal transportation dollars with allocations from $2.83 billion that will be redistributed after recipients failed to spend it on projects as planned.
California will receive the most, a $293 million allocation that is an increase of more than $90 million from the state's previous high redistribution in 2006. Hawaii is the only state that will not receive any extra funding.
The states have three years to expend their bonus funding, but the money must be dedicated by Sept. 27 to specific projects that meet federal guidelines.
The bonus money comes from annual federal funding grants for state transportation projects that were not expended because a project was completed for less than expected or did not use the money for other reasons. The five-year Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, which was enacted in late 2015, provided $43.1 billion of federal highway funding to states and $11.8 billion of transit funding.
The unexpended federal funding flows into the bonus pool overseen by the Federal Highway Administration, which redistributes it before the beginning of the next federal fiscal year on Oct. 1.
The latest transportation funding redistribution is mandated by the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (PL 114-113), said FHWA director Greg Nadeau.
States had requested $5.16 billion from the redistribution funding, the FHWA said.
New York's allocation of $155.8 billion was a distant second to California's $293 million. Florida will receive $150 million, followed by Illinois at $133.4 million, Pennsylvania with $123.4 million, and Georgia with $122.2 million.
Other allocations include $120 million for Ohio and $103.5 million for Michigan. Virginia will receive an allocation of $90 million, with Texas getting $75 million, and Missouri receiving $72.7 million.
The bonus federal funding will provide an additional $185 million for the California Department of Transportation's road projects and $108 million for local transportation efforts, said Caltrans director Malcolm Dougherty.
"Caltrans has been rewarded, yet again, for its on-time and responsible use of federal funding, launching new construction projects prior to federal deadlines," he said. "These additional funds will help Caltrans and local transportation agencies to continue to invest in transportation across the state."
California has a proven track record of maximizing its federal funding and successfully launching key statewide infrastructure projects, Dougherty said.
Caltrans completed the first phase of a seven-phase interchange project on Interstate 80 near San Francisco in August, Dougherty said. The new interchange is designed to reduce congestion for the 150,000 motorists per day who use the highway that connects the Bay Area with the Napa Valley and Sacramento.
Work began in April on another congestion-busting project, the construction of 10 miles of carpool lanes on I-10 in San Bernardino County. Dougherty said the $195 million segment is the final phase of a three-part project to build 40 miles of continuous carpool lanes from downtown Los Angeles to San Bernardino County.
"We will continue to responsibly and efficiently use California's transportation funds," he said. "This money will be put to work immediately supporting jobs and making improvements that will benefit Californians for decades to come."
Nebraska will combine its $19 million of redistributed federal funding with $21 million of repurposed state revenue to help meet the state's transportation needs over the next three years, said Kyle Schneweis, director of the Nebraska Department of Roads.
Nebraska has never lost federal funds to the FHWA's annual redistribution because it focuses on project delivery and carefully monitors fund balances, Schneweis said.
"We're very pleased to be able to use funds today which are left over from completed projects or were unusable," he said. "I appreciate Congress releasing these funds. It's the common sense thing to do."
