The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Announced over $130 million in grant awards for 42 technology demonstration projects through the Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) Grants Program.

The program was established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and provides $500 million over five years for State, local, and Tribal governments to leverage technology to create a safer, more efficient, and more innovative transportation systems. With the latest two rounds of funding, the SMART Grants Program has awarded nearly $280 million across 45 states, Puerto Rico, and Washington D.C.

“Through the SMART Grants Program, established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are investing in new technologies and approaches that can help communities across the country address their most pressing transportation challenges,” said Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “The awards we’re announcing today will put funding in the hands of state, local, and Tribal governments to support their key priorities, which range from the delivery of medical supplies in rural areas to ensuring transportation system resilience in the face of natural disasters.” 

The SMART Grants Program is a two-state program, stage one is for planning and prototyping grants, and stage two is for implementation grants. This is the third year of SMART stage one grant awards, which the USDOT has received 308 eligible applications for the most recent round of funding. 

This round of projects includes the first stage two deployment awards in eight states and 34 new stage one prototyping projects in 21 states. The USDOT received 28 applications for stage two from eligible stage one recipients.

“The high demand for the SMART Grants Program over all three years demonstrates the need for purpose-driven technology solutions undertaken by State, local, and Tribal agencies. This first round of Stage Two awards will implement these solutions at scale, building on successes demonstrated in their first stage,” said Dr. Robert C. Hampshire, principal deputy assistant secretary for research and technology and chief science officer at the USDOT.

The full list of awards can be found here.