CAI PROGRAM OVERVIEW

The  Compact Authorization Investment (CAI) program funds local transportation projects for communities within the Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission's 140-mile jurisdiction.  The preponderance of grants awarded under this unique partnering program have gone to communities that host a Commission bridge and encounter traffic impacts associated with those facilities.  Projects eligible to receive CAI funding include initiatives aimed at improving a respective community's safety and traffic flow.

• A PDF file of completed, under-construction, and proposed CAI projects is available for viewing here.

Once the Commission awards a community with a CAI grant, the resulting funded project is managed by the local community. The Commission, however, continues an important accountability function with each project, ensuring that the public funding is used for strictly transportation-related purposes and is properly spent.

The Commission recognizes that there are both benefits and burdens for communities which host Commission bridges. By providing grants to host communities for important local transportation projects, the Commission helps to alleviate some of the burdens for our community partners.

As of March 2010, almost $43 million in CAI grants had been awarded to 33 diverse river communities in New Jersey and Pennsylvania to fund a wide range of projects aimed at reducing congestion, improving traffic flow and promoting vehicular and pedstrian safety.  These important projects will improve conditions for local residents as well as the thousands of customers who use the Commission's 20 bridges daily.

CAI-funded enhancements will help to make for a better travel experience between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as improve the quality of life for Delaware River communities. The residual benefits of these grants are improved traffic conditions and easier access to local businesses, recreation areas and tourist sites.

Examples of appropriate projects that are considered for funding under the CAI program include:

• Installation or upgrades to traffic signalization around Commission facilities;
• Road widening in areas affected by or affecting Commission crossings;
• Bicycle or pedestrian paths leading up to Commission facilities;
• Park-and-ride facilities; and
• Safety lighting

The CAI program is one aspect of the Commission's overall commitment to its customers and host communities.

The  Delaware River Joint Toll Bridge Commission launched its $40 million Compact Authorization Investment (CAI) program in 2005.  The program enables river-region communities to achieve much-needed transportation-related improvements that might otherwise be unaffordable.  By their very nature, CAI grants are helping dozens of Pennsylvania and New Jersey communities pursue sound, local transportation-focused capital projects without having to resort to onerous local tax increases.

The program complements the Commission's general practice of assisting its host communities with maintenance and repair work or civic undertakings, such as festival and parade preparations.  The dozens of transportation enhancements funded by CAI grants are providing a better travel experience between Pennsylvania and New Jersey, as well as improving the quality of life for Delaware River communities.

Awards are based on criteria and contractual stipulations are laid out in each respective grant agreement to ensure public accountability.  The CAI program is an inherently financially responsible endeavor, with numerous public safeguards written into every grant contract.  All grant awards are professionally administered and monitored.

Local communities are utilizing CAI grants to improve local roads, install traffic-control devices, create bicycle and pedestrian paths and build park-and-ride lots.

As of July 2010, over $46 million in CAI grants had been awarded by the Commission to finance 86 separate projects in 33 river region communities.

(The program was expanded by $7.4 million in December 2009.  The additional funding represents money that had been earmarked to various projects and not fully spent since 2005, as well as approximately $6 million in interest earned on the fund's deposits since its creation.)

The CAI program is one aspect of the Commission's overall commitment to its customers and host communities.  Moreover, it meshes with the Commission's motto: "Preserving Our Past, Enhancing Our Future."

• A pdf file of completed, under-construction, and proposed CAI projects is available for viewing by clicking here.
• A press release outlining the Commission's latest CAI project awards (issued on June 28, 2010) may be accessed by clicking here.

The CAI program is one aspect of the Commission's overall commitment to its customers and host communities.  Moreover, it meshes with the Commission's motto: "Preserving Our Past, Enhancing Our Future."

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