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Today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) will launch a competitive grant process so states can apply for the $2.4 billion in high-speed stimulus funds that were rejected by the state of Florida.

USDOT will use a “merit-driven process” to award the funds to projects that can “deliver public and economic benefits quickly,” according to a prepared statement. Among the selection criteria: a project’s ability to reduce energy consumption, improve the efficiency of a region’s overall transportation network and generate sustained economic activity along the corridor. Applications are due April 4.

“The Obama Administration’s bold high-speed rail plan will create jobs, reinvigorate our manufacturing sector and spur economic development for years to come,” LaHood said. “States across the country have been banging down our door for the opportunity to receive additional high-speed rail dollars and to deliver all of its economic benefits to their citizens.”
 
Information about the Notice of Funding Availability can be found here: http://www.fra.dot.gov/rpd/passenger/477.shtml.