The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has given $10.2 million in Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives (STSFA) grants to seven states to test new ways to finance highway and bridge projects and support the Highway Trust Fund. The grants will fund projects to test the design, implementation, and acceptance of user-based alternative revenue tools.
“These grants provide states with the opportunity to explore innovative new ways to help pay for infrastructure improvements and maintenance,” says Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Brandye L. Hendrickson in a press release.
FHWA officials selected proposals from seven states — California, Delaware, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Utah. The projects will investigate and evaluate various mileage-based and road-user charges, including for trucks and automated vehicles, and the implementation and operation of the technologies at a regional level.
Missouri’s $1,782,500 grant is the third innovation grant received by the Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT), the News Tribune reports. Its proposal would change how the state calculates its registration fee, which currently is based on “taxable horsepower” — which MoDOT notes is no longer “calculated or published by vehicle manufacturers.” The state proposes basing registration fees on a vehicle’s fuel efficiency measured in miles per gallon.
