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The Utah Transit Authority announced Thursday that it won a competitive federal grant for $20 million, which it said will help fund hundreds of small projects to improve access to public transportation.
It will include such efforts as bike lanes, bike sharing, sidewalk and trail connections, ramps for the disabled, bike and pedestrian bridges, improved signs and better crosswalks and signals.
UTA said the $20 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant will be matched with $61 million in local funding. UTA partnered with more than 30 cities and counties, non-profit groups and other state and local agencies to apply for the grant.
"This is great news for the people UTA serves. UTA and its partners are working to make it easier and safer for people to move throughout the region," UTA Interim President and CEO Jerry Benson said in a press release. "TIGER grants are very competitive and this award validates how we do things in Utah — with collaboration and sound planning."
UTA says it was among 585 applicants for TIGER funding. The total amount requested by all applicants was more than $9 billion nationwide, but the total amount of TIGER funding available nationally was only $500 million. UTA originally applied for $28 million, and was given $20 million.
UTA said it is working with cities and other stakeholders to finalize the project list. Details on specific projects are scheduled to be released this fall, and construction on some could begin as early as late this year.
The agency said it is planning projects throughout its commuter and light-rail system, and aims to improve transit access in 26 cities around 36 stations.
Carlos Braceras, executive director of the Utah Department of Transportation, said it collaborated with UTA in seeking the grant and, "We believe this project will provide meaningful access to Utah's transit system and greatly improve air quality, safety and transit access for citizens throughout the Wasatch Front."
Andrew Gruber, executive director of the Wasatch Front Regional Council, another partner, said, "When people have more choices for how to get around, it facilitates better health outcomes, reduces household transportation costs, improves the air we all breathe, and supports a vibrant economy."