NORTH CAROLINA — North Carolina will receive a portion of $250 million in American Rescue Plan funding being allocated to advance transit projects across the country, U.S. Transportation Sec. Pete Buttigieg announced Friday.

What You Need To Know

  • North Carolina will receive $16.5 million of the $250 million being distributed to 22 projects across 13 states

  • The CityLYNX Gold Line Streetcar Phase II project in Charlotte will receive $11.1 million

  • The Wake Bus Rapid Transit New Bern Avenue Project in Raleigh will receive $5.4 million

  • The funding is part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, which was signed into law by President Biden in March

The funding is being distributed across 13 states to help with the completion of 22 transit projects in the Federal Transit Administration’s Capital Investment Grants program. 

“This funding will help numerous communities across the country continue to protect jobs and advance important transit projects that otherwise might have been canceled or delayed due to the pandemic,” said FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez. “These federal funding allocations are so important for transit agencies struggling in the wake of COVID-19.”

North Carolina will receive roughly $16.5 million that will be divided between Charlotte and Raleigh.

According to a release, $11.1 million will go to the Charlotte Area Transit System (CATS) to help fund the CityLYNX Gold Line Streetcar Phase II project. The project is a 2.5 mile extension west from the Charlotte Transportation Center to the Johnson C. Smith University campus and east from the Novant Health Presbyterian Medical Center to the Sunnyside neighborhood.

In Raleigh, $5.4 million will be allocated to the Wake Bus Rapid Transit New Bern Avenue Project, which is a 5.1 mile bus rapid transit line that will improve access and mobility along the New Bern Avenue corridor by connecting the city’s central business district and communities eastward to North New Hope Road.

“Public transit opens new opportunities for people, and delivers environmental and economic benefits to communities,” Buttigieg said in a statement. “We are delighted to provide support for these projects, which will help communities recover from the pandemic and bring public transit to more people in the months and years to come.”

The funding is part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 signed into law by President Joe Biden in March. Other states receiving funding include Arizona, California, Florida, Indiana, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Utah, Washington State and Wisconsin.

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