Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Shortlist Highlights Westshore Intermodal Center, Managed Lanes and Streetcar Extension

Gina Du, project director with HNTB, briefed the TPO on the Regional Infrastructure Accelerator (RIA) work funded through a USDOT Build America Bureau grant. Du said the regional team screened more than 100 unfunded projects across Pasco, Pinellas and Hillsborough, executed memoranda of understanding with several agencies and conducted more than 70 stakeholder meetings to identify a shortlist for deeper analysis.

"They are the Westshore Intermodal Center, the TPA to downtown premium transit, manage lanes on 275 from Lois to Ashley, the alternate US 19 bus rapid transit corridor, and the Envision Streetcar extension," Du said, listing the five shortlisted projects. Du emphasized that the shortlist is not prioritized and that the work is technology‑agnostic; she also described efforts to assemble a layered financing approach using Build America Bureau tools, CRA funds and local revenues. The team will submit a report to USDOT next month and has secured additional funding to take the five projects deeper in analysis.

Board members asked about regional readiness, private‑sector engagement and right‑of‑way synergies. Du said Pasco and Pinellas sponsors are being revisited and that some projects remain 5–10 years from delivery, but that the RIA funding allows a closer look at capital stacks and private financing options.