US: Biden administration announces $94 million in grants to advanced tech projects

The United States transportation department announced this week that it would be awarding over $94 million in grants to advanced technology projects. The grants are part of the 2021 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

The transportation department announced on Tuesday that it is awarding $94.8 million in grants to 59 projects that aim to boost road safety, improve transit reliability, and use drones and sensors for transportation projects. The $94.8 million is part of the $500 million provision for “Smart” mobility projects under the $1 trillion bipartisan infrastructure law.

Transportation secretary Pete Buttigieg said the grants would “foster innovations that improve people’s day-to-day lives, making transportation safer, more reliable, more efficient, and more sustainable.”

The city of Detroit in Michigan will get $2 million for sensors to create smart intersections by using its existing traffic cameras to deploy artificial intelligence software solutions that could “predict and prevent traffic accidents.” New Jersey will also receive $2 million for sensors to address wrong-way driving incidents, while New York will receive $2 million for the development of an app to allow visually-impaired customers that use the state’s subway and buses to navigate their trips.

Los Angeles will receive $2 million to integrate transit trip planning with event ticketing for major events, including the upcoming 2028 Olympic and Paralympic Games. Cleveland, Ohio, will receive $1.8 million for smart traffic signals, and Harris County in Texas will receive $2 million for sensors for a new flood warning system. Three tribal nations in North Dakota will receive $2 million for drone technology for medical care and equipment deliveries, and Eastern Shore in Virginia will receive $1.9 million for drones to deliver medical supplies.

Massachusetts will receive $2 million for drones and sensors to monitor and analyze railroad infrastructure, and New York will receive $1.5 million for drones to inspect infrastructure along a major highway.

President Joe Biden also designated two new national monuments in the country that would protect up to 200,000 hectares of wilderness in Texas and Nevada, following last week’s approval by the administration of a controversial oil drilling project in Alaska. Biden made the announcement during his remarks at the White House Conservation in Action Summit.

Castner Range in Texas and Avi Kwa Ame in Nevada, also known as Spirit Mountain, are the two new national monuments under the 1906 Antiquities Act. Biden also issued a presidential memorandum to commerce secretary Gina Raimondo, calling on the department to designate around two million square kilometers of ocean south of Hawaii as a new national marine sanctuary.