The Washington State Department of Transportation recently issued a total of $15.8 million to support 15 active transportation projects statewide via its Sandy Williams Connecting Communities Program or SWCCP, named for the late community organizer who worked to reconnect her East Central neighborhood in Spokane after the construction of I-90 split the community in half.

[Above photo by WSDOT]

The agency said that SWCCP grant funding aims to help communities develop and build infrastructure that enables safer walking, biking, and rolling along and across current and former state highways while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This spans everything from constructing sidewalks, bike paths, and biking trails to developing community engagement processes, WSDOT noted.

The program, now in its third year, prioritizes communities and tribes most affected by environmental health disparities and by barriers to opportunity, the agency said.

“This program is the embodiment of our Active Transportation Plan,” explained Barb Chamberlain, WSDOT’s active transportation division director, in a statement. “To build and maintain a transportation system that serves everyone, we have to fund safe active travel where people need it most.”

WSDOT added that the SWCCP is currently seeking suggestions for its fourth round of funding, with applications due by September 19.

The agency said the SWCCP, now fully funded by the state’s Climate Commitment Act, originally started out as a pilot program with $50 million over four years set to end in 2027. However, the state legislature made the program permanent and developed a dedicated funding source for it in the 2025-2026 legislative session. The new funding sustains the program at $12.5 million per year into the future, WSDOT said.

In addition to SWCCP, WSDOT said its Active Transportation Division manages grant programs such as Safe Routes to School and the Pedestrian Bicyclist Programs. Together, they have distributed more than $480 million to Washington communities since launching in 2005, the agency noted.

Other state departments of transportation operate similar active transportation support programs.

For example, the Colorado Department of Transportation recently issued $17.3 million in grants to 11 local projects aimed at improving air quality along parts of the Front Range region of the state.

Colorado DOT said its Nonattainment Area Air Pollution Mitigation Enterprise or NAAPME grant program is providing funding to the Community Clean Transportation Assistance Program or CCTAP to projects that address the impacts of automotive emissions in the nine-county Denver and North Front Range Ozone Nonattainment Area, where ozone levels exceed federal standards.

The agency said that those projects seek to reduce automotive emissions by improving multimodal access and promoting active transportation options such as biking and walking. Those projects also aim to increase safety and connectivity through infrastructure upgrades and strategic mobility hubs.

In February, the Minnesota Department of Transportation noted that 10 cities statewide are receiving grants via its Active Transportation Planning Assistance program to help them increase the number of residents walking and biking within their communities.

Funded by the state legislature, MnDOT said that program offers an estimated $100,000 worth of technical assistance from a consultant, such as developing an action plan and demonstration project. The agency added that it does not issue those grants directly to recipients and that each community receiving a grant is responsible for covering the implementation costs – such as construction – of their respective active transportation projects.

And the Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently joined with the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Massachusetts Office of Outdoor Recreation, and the Massachusetts Office of Travel and Tourism to launch the “MassTrails 10” campaign to showcase the recreational opportunities of trails, as well as how they connect to local transit services and other broader trail networks.

A regional planning initiative led by the Centralina Regional Council in partnership with the North Carolina Department of Transportation’s Integrated Mobility Division recently earned national recognition for its work to improve transportation access and reduce congestion in the greater Charlotte region.

[Above photo by the Centralina Regional Council]

The CONNECT Centralina project received a 2025 Impact Award from the National Association of Development Organizations for improving quality of life for residents while building long-term infrastructure resilience.

Backed with $285,000 in state funding, along with $115,000 in local contributions, the project produced the Charlotte region’s first Transportation Demand Management or TDM plan; a term referring to programs and strategies that reduce reliance on single-occupancy vehicles by encouraging options like carpooling, transit, walking, and biking.

“The partnership reflects our commitment to helping regions create smarter, more connected communities,” said Brennon Fuqua, director of NCDOT’s Integrated Mobility Division, in a statement. “Supporting local innovation is key to reducing single-occupancy vehicle trips and improving mobility statewide.”

He noted that NCDOT played a “hands-on role” in this regional project, from consultant selection to project oversight as well as providing a regional planner from the Integrated Mobility Division to serve as both project manager and steering committee member for it.

“CONNECT Centralina is a one-of-its-kind program in our region that gives residents the opportunity to take their commutes back for themselves,” said Sarah Niess, senior planner at Centralina Regional Council, who spearheaded this project. “NCDOT’s support, both in providing financial support and technical assistance throughout the process, was critical to the development of our transportation demand management plan.”

The Massachusetts Department of Transportation recently broke ground on the Lawrence Manchester Rail Corridor or LMRC improvement project that seeks to turn part of an abandoned rail line into an approximately 1.5-mile shared use path.

[Above left to right: MassDOT’s Tibbits-Nutt, Lawrence Mayor DePeña. Photo via Town of Lawrence.]

The project – which should be completed by the summer of 2028 – also includes rehabilitation of existing LMRC bridges over the Merrimack River and the South Canal, construction of a new bridge over Manchester Street for the shared-use path, and replacement of the Lowell Street bridge with a precast concrete culvert structure. Additionally, the approaches on Lowell Street will be reconstructed to accommodate the proposed structure and connect with the existing infrastructure.

Other improvements incorporated into the LMRC project include traffic signal reconstruction; curb extensions; construction of new sidewalks or rehabilitating existing ones; plus, the installation of accessible curb ramps, crosswalks, and pedestrian signal equipment where the shared path intersects with public roadways.

[Editor’s note: In January, MassDOT noted that it added roughly 15 miles of new shared use paths in 2024; expanding multimodal connectivity and opportunities for recreation statewide while also enhancing pedestrian and bicyclist safety.]

Further improvements include installation of granite curbing, minor drainage system upgrades, mill and overlay of the existing pavement at street intersections, and full depth pavement construction for both the shared-use path and selected roadway intersection areas. 

“We’re proud to partner with our municipal leaders to bring the Lawrence Manchester Rail Corridor to life, transforming a long-unused rail line into a vibrant shared-use path,” said Monica Tibbits-Nutt, MassDOT secretary and CEO, in a statement.

“This project isn’t just about infrastructure, it’s about equity,” she said. “It’s about ensuring every resident has safe, reliable access to walk, bike, and connect to their community, regardless of zip code or background.”

“The Manchester Rail Trail is a transformative project that will open new opportunities to connect people to work, school, home, and more, and we’re grateful for our partnership with our state and federal delegations and the city’s leadership to make projects like this become a reality,” added Jonathan Gulliver, MassDOT highway administrator. “Shared use paths are proven tools to support mobility and economic growth, and the Manchester Rail Trail will result a new means of travel that will stretch from one end of the city to the other.”

“The Lawrence Manchester Rail Corridor project is a transformative investment in the future of our city,” noted Lawrence Mayor Brian DePeña. “By turning an abandoned rail line into a modern shared-use path, we are creating a safer, more connected community – one that promotes active transportation, supports local economic development, and improves quality of life for all our residents.”

Across the country, state departments of transportation are working on similar shared trail projects.

For example, the Illinois Department of Transportation recently began work on the latest extension of the Route 66 Trail in McLean County.

Made possible by a $3.2 million grant via the agency’s Illinois Transportation Enhancement Program, the project will extend the trail 4.5 miles from McLean to Funks Grove – enhancing a popular travel and recreation option in central Illinois while drawing tourists, creating economic opportunity and improving connections for communities along the old Route 66.

Meanwhile, the Washington State Department of Transportation is currently building the Gravelly-Thorne Connector; a 1.3-mile-long, 14-foot-wide path between Tillicum and Gravelly Lake Drive Southwest in Lakewood. That paved urban trail will run parallel to southbound I-5 and is expected to open in late fall 2026.

And in December 2024, the Hawaii Department of Transportation completed construction of the $15.7 million Leeward Bikeway – a dedicated bikeway within the former Oahu Railway & Land Company right-of-way between Philippine Sea Road in ‘Ewa and Waipahu Depot Street. 

The Hawaii Department of Transportation has partnered with four island counties to help deliver a dozen all-electric, zero-emission buses that are projected to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by more than 17 tons over their lifecycle.

[Above photo by Hawaii DOT]

The buses, which collectively cost $16.6 million, are headed to Kaua’i, Maui, and Hawai’i Island and will replace similar diesel-powered units. All Hawaii counties have pledged to convert their entire bus fleets to renewable fuel power by 2035, noted Hawaii DOT.

Hawaii DOT helped pay for those buses with $11.2 million from the Federal Transit Administration’s “Low or No Emissions” grant program and the agency’s “Buses and Bus Facilities” formula program. The Hawaii State Energy Office chipped in $3.53 million as well from the Volkswagen Settlement fund, with the four counties contributing the rest.

Charging stations already have been installed with separate federal grants, so the buses are ready to go into service right away, according to Shelly Kunishige, communications manager for the Hawaii DOT.

The agency said that each EV bus can reduce oxides of nitrogen emissions by 1.445 tons over its lifetime compared to a similar diesel-powered vehicle. For 12 buses, that amounts to 17.34 tons of emissions.

Hawaii Governor Josh Green (D) touted the buses’ environmental virtues in a Hawaii DOT news release, but he also touched on how the buses “will provide our residents and visitors with additional transportation options that will help keep our communities connected.”

The bus purchase is aligned with Hawaii DOT’s new “Energy Security and Waste Reduction Plan,” a blueprint for the department to help meet the state’s goal of reducing the level of emissions measured in 2005 by 50 percent in 2030. Hawaii DOT recently extended public comment on that plan through August 31.

The EV buses “further our commitment to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions,” Hawaii DOT’s Kunishige said. “We also have pledged to build out our multimodal infrastructure in the next five years so people have a choice to walk and bike safely to their destinations,” she added.

Kunishige noted that Hawaii is second in the nation behind California for EV adoption in the public fleet, adding that Hawaii DOT is in the process of converting its light-duty fleet to EVs while building out the charging network.

The agency also recently implemented a Road Usage Charge or RUC for light-duty passenger electric vehicles or EVs on July 1, following a federally funded three-year research and demonstration project in concert with authorizing legislation passed in 2023.