MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Tennessee will soon have access to several new transportation options after Congressman Steve Cohen announced Thursday, April 21 that the state received $139,172,276 in funding under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).
The lumpsum funding will be invested in public transit services, pedestrian and bicycle trails, electrical vehicle charging infrastructure, traffic flow improvements, and congestion management technology.
The infrastructure investment is just not limited to Tennessee, and it is part of a $1.2 trillion investment across the country that was signed into law by President Joe Biden on November 15, 2021.
According to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Deal Fact Sheet, the new funding will allow Tennessee to continue to rebuild roads, bridges, and railways. The money will also increase access to clean drinking water by improving water pipeline infrastructure, and it will make high-speed internet more easily accessible to every American.
Cohen said that with new transportation options like these, larger cities in Tennessee can decrease traffic and roadway congestion in local communities and decrease the overall carbon pollution across the state.
“Our Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is delivering historic investments in cleaner, more convenient transportation options for Memphis and Tennessee,” said Congressman Cohen. “This needed funding will reduce commute times, lower costs for working families, combat harmful carbon pollution and support good-paying, union jobs.”
As Tennesseans continue to see higher than usual gas prices, new transportation options can potentially offer some much needed relief.
