Seven North Carolina communities along the S-Line, a federally designated southeast corridor for high-speed rail along the East Coast, are proposed to become vital mobility hubs for the transformative rail line. The S-Line will have a substantial impact on growth in North Carolina, particularly on communities along the corridor, promoting regional connections between rural and urban communities. Serving as an essential location for mobility in each community, the hubs will centralize transit, rail, bicycle, rideshare, and other multimodal mobility options.
The seven communities sought a USDOT RAISE Grant that will enable the preparation of site assessments, NEPA compliance, and preliminary engineering. VHB led the preparation of the RAISE Grant application, utilizing key demographic and corridor data to demonstrate the 90-mile corridor’s unique rural and historically disadvantaged communities that would significantly benefit from the implementation of the mobility hubs. The communities were awarded a 2022 RAISE Grant, receiving $3.4 million in funds for the planning project.
