More than $13 million has been awarded to 18 transportation projects that improve Greater Des Moines from the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO).

Polk County Supervisor and MPO Chair Tom Hockensmith said the selected projects help advance the four goals established in the region’s long-term transportation Plan, Mobilizing Tomorrow. Those goals are to enhance multimodal transportation options, optimize existing transportation infrastructure, improve the region’s environmental health, and further the health, safety and well-being of all residents.

“MPO member governments continue to make smart investments in transportation that are improving Greater Des Moines,” Hockensmith said.

The projects receiving funding range from trails, streetscapes and transit buses to the reconstruction of existing roads and the construction of new roads.

Click here for a list of projects receiving funding

The application process was competitive, with applications for 27 projects totaling more than $48 million in requests. MPO staff scored the projects on how well they help meet the regional performance measures established in Mobilizing Tomorrow. Additionally, the public provided comments and feedbacks on the proposed projects. The STP Funding Subcommittee reviewed applications, scoring and public comment and made a recommendation to the MPO Policy Committee, which approved the funding for the recommended projects on April 21.

The grants are available through the Surface Transportation Program and the Transportation Alternative Program, which are funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation and administered by the MPO.

Mobilizing Tomorrow is the long-range transportation plan for the year 2050 adopted by the Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) in November 2014. The plan outlines how the MPO’s member governments throughout the Greater Des Moines region will invest approximately $600 million in transportation funding over the next 35 years.