Arkansas projects receiving $40 million in federal infrastructure grants

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Three large-scale Arkansas projects will receive part of a $1.8 billion in federal infrastructure grant program announced Wednesday.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced that Arkansas would receive $40 million in grants from the current distribution. The project will fund transportation projects in Searcy, Silom Springs, and a combined interstate highway in Crawford and Sebastian counties.

The projects are:

• Searcy: $4,222,900 for the Little Red Greenway, a 15.5-mile expansion of the existing 5.5-mile bike trail, including planning and public input. The final result will be a bicycle and pedestrian route that will encourage physical activity and community connectivity while promoting low-cost transportation. 
• Silom Springs: $11,556,363 for the Bridging Heritage as part of the city’s Main Street Revitalization project. Funding will allow for the planning, engineering, and construction of street improvements along E Main Street between Maxwell and Lincoln streets, including replacing the Sager Creek Bridge. The end result will be safer and improved traffic flow.
• Crawford & Sebastian counties: $25,000,000 for the I-49 Extension, which will add approximately 14 miles of four-lane, divided, controlled-access highway, including a new bridge over the Arkansas River. When the project is completed, users will have safer and more efficient access to community destinations.

The grants announced Wednesday were part of $1.8 billion in awards from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program, funding 148 projects nationally. 

Officials said RAISE’s eligibility requirements allow project sponsors, such as governments and agencies, to pursue multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional projects that are more difficult to fund through other grant programs.

Officials said the demand for RAISE funding outpaced available funds, with the DOT receiving almost $13 billion in requests for the $1.8 billion available this year.

A full list of projects being funded may be seen on Transportation.gov.