The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration awarded Delaware a $5 million Advanced Transportation Technology and Innovation (ATTAIN) program grant to improve safety during flood events.
The Delaware Department of Transportation will receive the grant for its Traffic Management and Safety Traffic Management and Safety for Flooding Roadways and Vulnerable Road Users project as part of a $52.78 million investment package under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. ATTAIN program awards will go to eight projects around the country that bring technology-based solutions to improve the travel experience for the millions of Americans using highway and transit systems, with expanded eligibility for projects in communities that have previously lacked investments, including rural areas and areas of persistent poverty.
DelDOT will use the funding for a project in Sussex County to improve safety by optimizing transportation systems before and during flood events. The project uses advanced technologies to improve the detection of local road users, including vulnerable road users, pedestrians and bicyclists.
“Your zip code shouldn’t determine whether you have access to safe, affordable transportation,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “With President Biden’s investments in innovative technology, we’re helping communities make transportation safer and more efficient, particularly in places that haven’t received enough resources in the past.”
“We’re helping deliver a leading-edge transportation system designed to reach everyone and to work for everyone, especially those in communities who have lacked access to efficient transportation,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “In Delaware, we’re improving safety when critical flood events happen with this advanced technology grant to the Delaware Department of Transportation.”
The ATTAIN program promotes advanced technologies to improve safety and reduce travel times for drivers and transit riders that can serve as national examples. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law expanded the program and added new emphasis to climate change and environmental justice impacts.
The eight selected projects will help advance intelligent transportation systems technologies that improve mobility and safety. The projects include extending real-time traffic information and signal timing systems, including for transit and other advanced technologies.
