$55 million in funding announced for carbon reduction efforts

MARYLAND – Monday the Maryland Department of Transportation announced $55 million in funding for potential projects that will aim to reduce carbon emissions. The funds will be made available through the Federal Highway Administration’s Carbon Reduction Program.

According to MDOT, the transportation sector is the number one greenhouse gas contributor in the state of Maryland. To address this, the department is putting out an open call for applications and proposals in the hope that competition can spark creativity and innovation among its partners.

“We’re looking to fund projects that are ultimately going to be be high achievers of reducing carbon,” said MDOT Assistant Secretary of Project Planning and Development Joe McAndrew, “Whether they be a zero emission bus, a trail, or a sidewalk. At the end of the day we’re trying to clean up our transportation system.”

McAndrew noted that this is a unique opportunity for MDOT, with this allocation from the Federal Highway Administration being their only federal funding source that is specifically targeted at reducing carbon emissions.

This comes after Maryland passed the Climate Solutions Now Act in 2022, with the long-term goal of achieving net-zero emissions by 2045.

“Anything we do in this space is going to improve our ability to achieve our state plan, to achieve the bold vision set out by the general assembly, and ultimately achieve what we’re after here: making sure that we’ve got a sustainable transportation system that helps us become the cleanest, greenest state in the country.”