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Lamar Alexander: $12 Million Federal Grant Will Help Memphians Get to Work, School and Home on Time

U.S. SenateWashington, D.C. – United States Senator Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) today said a $12 million federal grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will help Memphians get to work, school and home on time.

“This $12 million federal grant will allow the City of Memphis to move forward with the Memphis Innovation Corridor, which will help increase travel options for Memphians in low income and central city neighborhoods. This new corridor will make it easier for Memphians to access their jobs, educational opportunities and more affordable housing,” Senator Alexander said.

U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander
U.S. Senator Lamar Alexander

“This is a highly competitive grant program, and this $12 million grant to Memphis is a great compliment to our state and the City of Memphis’ leadership,” stated Senator Alexander

Memphis will receive a $12 million federal grant to begin construction on the Memphis Innovation Corridor. This funding will allow the City of Memphis  and the Memphis Area Transit Authority to begin construction on a 8.25 mile Bus Rapid Transit system from the Hudson Transit Center, through Downtown Memphis to the University of Memphis. The system includes the construction of 28 new, high tech bus stations, and the purchase of nine new electric buses. 

The Memphis Innovation Corridor is a $74 million project that will link Downtown Memphis with Midtown, the Medical District and the University of Memphis. Mayor Jim Strickland, the Shelby County Board of Commissioners, County Mayor Lee Harris and the Memphis Area Transit Authority have been working diligently with private partners, such as FedEx, St. Jude’s Children Hospital, AutoZone, the Greater Memphis Chamber of Commerce, the University of Memphis, the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Southwest Tennessee Community College to make this project a reality.

The federal grant is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program, which awards competitive grants to communities in Tennessee and across the country to fund significant transportation projects, including highways and bridges, public transportation systems, passenger and freight railroads and port infrastructure.

The BUILD grant program is funded by the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development Appropriations subcommittee, of which Alexander is a member. In Fiscal Year 2019, the BUILD grant was federally funded at $900 million. 

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