Two major state grants will provide CARTA bus service to the Enterprise South Industrial Park as well as bicycle lanes from downtown to the UTC campus.
The grants are through the federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) program
A grant of $1,732,880 provides new direct service to and from Enterprise South Industrial Park. it connects to CARTA's main line, Cleveland Transit and Southeast Tennessee Human Resource Agency services.
It will serve seven park and ride locations and downtown Chattanooga and creates four designated routes with four round trips per day.
The CARTA grant is over three years.
There is a $433,220 local match.
The new bike lanes will be along several streets leading to UTC.
It links surrounding neighborhoods with downtown employment centers and UT Chattanooga campus, and connects with existing bike infrastructure.
Officials said it will reduce emissions by increasing bicycle mode share.
It installs new Bike Chattanooga (bikeshare) stations along routes to encourage increased bike use .
The grant is $1,432,939 CMAQ funds over two years. There is a $358,235 local match.
Chattanooga is also receiving $800,000 for the Chattanooga Regional ITS Phase 2: Advanced Transportation Management Systems Project. There is a $200,000 local match.
It coordinates arterial traffic signal system with TDOT Smartway.
It also provides ITS technology to manage 10,000 diverted peak hour vehicles to local streets when incidents occur during construction on US27/SR29 corridor between I-24/I-124 Interchange to north side of Tennessee River.
Officials said it reduces emissions through improved daily operations, effective re-routing of congested traffic and effective incident management.
It is Phase 2 of 7 in the regional ITS system project.
Tennessee Department of Transportation Commissioner John Schroer announced the award of over $27 million in Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) grants in 11 communities across the state. The 31 grants will fund a wide range of transportation projects designed to reduce congestion and improve air quality.
Funded projects include expansions of the TDOT HELP truck program statewide, improvements in traffic signal timing, cleaner transit buses and alternative fuel vehicles purchases, and protected bicycle lanes in Chattanooga. The grants also include a multimodal river port in Clarksville, and expanded transit service in several areas. Another project will include the addition of a bicycle-pedestrian trail on the Harahan Bridge in downtown Memphis.
“These projects are helping our transportation network operate more efficiently, while also providing better transportation options for our citizens,” Commissioner Schroer said. “The result will be better air quality and reduced congestion, which improves the quality of life for Tennesseans and creates more livable communities all over the state.”
The CMAQ Program funds transportation projects that reduce air emissions from on-road sources (cars, trucks, buses) and non-road sources (locomotives, barges, road construction equipment), as well as projects that reduce traffic congestion. CMAQ projects are limited to nonattainment or maintenance counties where air quality fails to attain national health standards. For most CMAQ projects, TDOT will provide 80 percent of the project funding, with the remaining 20 percent provided by the local project sponsor.
“From better traffic signal coordination in Gatlinburg to expanded park and ride options for several Memphis communities, many of these projects will offer great benefits to travelers across the state,” said Deputy Commissioner Toks Omishakin, Chief of TDOT’s Environment and Planning Bureau. “Through this program, we are also making great strides in our efforts to reduce emissions and improve air quality.”
For a list of CMAQ grant recipients and detailed information on each project, please visit http://www.tdot.state.tn.us/news/2014/cmaq/.