The Des Moines Area Metropolitan Planning Organization has awarded more than $16 million in grants for a variety of transportation projects, the organization announced today. The grants support projects such as pavement reconstruction in Grimes and Waukee, a bridge replacement in Des Moines, and replacement buses for the Des Moines Area Regional Transit Authority. The grants also include major reconstruction or replacement projects in eight jurisdictions. According to a news release, the grants help the MPO advance the region’s transportation goals of managing and optimizing existing infrastructure and services, and improving multimodal transportation options, improving environmental health, and furthering the health and safety of the region’s residents. The grants are funded by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, and are administered by the MPO. The grants become available for the projects in October 2027. According to the release, the projects are scored by MPO staff on how well they meet the regional performance measures established in the long-range transportation plan Mobilizing Tomorrow for the year 2050. The plan, adopted in 2019, outlines how the MPO’s member governments will invest about $8.1 billion in transportation funding over the next 35 years. The MPO also considered public input in its decision. The grants were approved by the MPO’s policy committee in April.