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RSPA 7-04
Contact: Debbie Hinz,
Tuesday, October 12, 2004 Tel: (202) 366-4831
publicaffairs@rspa.dot.gov
DOT Awards Grant to Marshall University for Transportation Research and
Education
The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Research and Special Programs
Administration (RSPA) today announced a $1.8 million grant to the University
Transportation Center (UTC) at Marshall University in Huntington, WV for its
study of transportation and economic development in mountain areas.
The grant will be administered by the Nick J. Rahall Appalachian Transportation
Institute (RTI).
“The UTC program attracts talented researchers and students and engages them in
new approaches to the transportation issues of today and tomorrow,” RSPA’s
Deputy Administrator Samuel G. Bonasso said. “Today’s grant demonstrates the
Bush Administration’s continued commitment to fostering innovation and
leadership in our future transportation workforce and maintaining an
economically strong nation.”
The RTI’s theme is “Transportation and Economic Development in Mountain
Regions.” Providing transportation for people and goods is a challenge for rural
Appalachia and other mountain areas due to the terrain and the dispersed
population. The RTI works to improve the residents’ standard of living by
studying how to create and maintain the most cost-effective transportation
systems for the area. Other institutions participating in the RTI are Bluefield
State College, Mountain State University, West Virginia University Institute of
Technology, and Southern West Virginia Community and Technical College.
"We are building jobs through transportation at RTI, and we will continue to do
so thanks to this grant," said Rep. Rahall, for whom the RTI is named. "Whether
by river, road, or rail, RTI is generating jobs while improving all modes of
transportation for Southern West Virginia and for our entire nation."
More than 75 colleges and universities throughout the United States participate
in the UTC program conducting transportation research, education and technology
transfer. Last year UTC colleges and universities graduated over 1,100 students
with advanced transportation-related degrees, offered almost 2,000 undergraduate
and graduate transportation courses, conducted almost 300 research projects, and
trained 32,000 practicing transportation professionals.
The UTC program is administered by RSPA and grant recipients are required to
provide matching funds.
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