Press Release: U.S. Department of Transportation Awards PNWER Second Grant to Drive Infrastructure Investment in Five-State Region
PNWER Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Will Build Capacity, Technical Assistance to Access Critical Infrastructure Funds Across Five-State Region
SEATTLE (October 13, 2023) – Today the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) awarded the Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) $2 million through the Build America Bureau (the Bureau) to continue advancing infrastructure development through its Regional Infrastructure Accelerator (RIA). This marks the USDOT’s second investment in the PNWER RIA since 2021, underscoring the national significance of the PNWER five-state region as well as the success achieved by the PNWER RIA following USDOT’s initial award.
The PNWER RIA will use the grant funding to deliver value in all five PNWER states; Alaska, Montana, Idaho, Oregon, and Washington. In collaboration with its strategic partners across the five-state region, the PNWER RIA will provide capacity-building technical assistance and expertise to increase infrastructure funding and financing literacy and competitiveness. The PNWER RIA’s strategic partners will receive funding as subrecipients of the award; those partners include: Alaska Municipal League (AML), AK; Big Sky Passenger Rail Authority (BSPRA), MT; Valley Regional Transit (VRT), ID; Local Highway Technical Assistance Council (LHTAC), ID.
“The RIA grant will continue to allow the PNWER Accelerator to leverage public and private talent and financial resources to fast track key transportation projects in five states,” notes Bruce Agnew, PNWER RIA Director.
USDOT selected PNWER as one of the initial five RIAs in 2021. The PNWER RIA is now one of 24 accelerators across the United States, and remains the only multi-jurisdictional, statutory economic development organization to receive such a designation. By focusing on gateways and multi-state corridors, the PNWER RIA is able to bundle urban and rural infrastructure projects. This bundling approach creates significant economic mass, enhancing project competitiveness under various grant and finance approaches.
Bipartisan support from Federal, State and Local leaders demonstrates the immediate need and endorsement for this program. This wide-ranging endorsement underscores the program's critical importance and highlights the shared infrastructure vision of its stakeholders. PNWER RIA's track record of success continues to showcase it as a leading force in regional infrastructure development.
Among other things, the PNWER RIA used its initial award of $1.235 million to provide the City of Spokane Valley technical assistance on its federal grant application to fund the Pines Road/BNSF Grade Separation project, a nationally and regionally significant project in Spokane, Washington. This support resulted in a $21.6 million federal RAISE grant and $1 million federal CRISI grant to replace the existing at-grade crossing and build a new underpass to improve safety and reliability for passenger and freight traffic.
With its second award, the PNWER RIA is focused on four key program areas to identify and deliver projects suitable for blending public and private investment through public-private partnerships and innovative financing solutions:
Build Northwest Center of Excellence: Serves as the overarching platform for all outreach activities, offering educational initiatives to project sponsors, legislators, and communities regarding innovative financing tools.
Zero Emission Commercial Refueling Infrastructure: Focuses on a technology-neutral approach to planning refueling infrastructure for medium- and heavy-duty zero emission vehicles; Collaborates with Northwest Tribes to establish zero emission refueling corridors at Tribally-owned truck stops.
High-Performance Rail: Identifies and bundles small to medium-sized rail improvement projects that benefit both freight and passenger rail systems, enhancing supply chain resilience and promoting Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) for community economic development.
Critical Connections: Focuses on bridges, airports, roads, and ferry system projects that connect communities across state lines and modes of transportation; Innovative financing exploration for transload facilities and other RRIF or TIFIA-eligible freight transport projects.
With the success of the PNWER RIA program to date, and the lessons learned from its initial deployment, PNWER is committed to accelerating expanded public and private capital investment and technological innovation for enhanced intermodal and multimodal networks for the Northwest states.
For more information on the RIA, visit pnwer.org/ria.
ABOUT PNWER
The Pacific NorthWest Economic Region (PNWER) is a public/private non-profit organization created by statute in 1991. Member jurisdictions include Alaska, Idaho, Oregon, Montana, and Washington, and the Canadian provinces and territories of British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, the Northwest Territories, and Yukon. PNWER's mission is to increase the economic well-being and quality of life for all citizens of the region; identify and promote "models of success; and serve as a conduit to exchange information. For more information on PNWER, visit www.pnwer.org.
ABOUT PNWER RIA
Initiated in 2021, the PNWER RIA serves as a convener for transportation projects in the region, specifically multistate and multi-jurisdictional initiatives with multi-modal and region-wide benefits. Funded through U.S. DOT’s Build America Bureau, the PNWER RIA helps identify Public-Private Partnerships (P3s) and federal financing opportunities to accelerate the delivery of transportation projects with region-wide benefits that ease supply chain disruptions, reduce transportation-related pollution, and increase economic and environmental justice, especially for historically underserved communities. For more information, visit www.pnwer.org/ria.
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