LEXINGTON, N.C. -- Last week, Rep. Ted Budd (NC-13) and Sens. Richard Burr and Thom Tillis announced that they secured a $24.9 million Better Utilizing Investment to Leverage Development (BUILD) grant from the Department of Transportation for the City of Lexington.

The project funded by the grant is described as follows: “The project constructs a multimodal passenger rail and bus station in Lexington’s Depot District, replaces the 7th Avenue at-grade rail crossing with a grade-separated rail crossing at 5th Avenue, and makes track improvements between the two components.”

Read more about the grant award HERE.

Rep. Budd said in a statement:

“From my earliest days in this job, I saw the need for this depot in Lexington and the project became one of my primary focuses for economic development. This depot will link Lexington to other centers of commerce like Charlotte, Salisbury, High Point, Greensboro, and Raleigh; and will revitalize the city for decades to come. I’d like to personally thank Secretary Chao for her commitment to this project and the state of North Carolina. I’m so thankful for the help of Senators Burr and Tillis, Mayor Clark, and many others for their hard work and support throughout this process.”

Lexington Mayor Newell Clark said:

“There are very few times as an elected official you can point to the day and time of a game changing moment in your community’s history.  Well, that day is today. I am so proud of the collaborative and diligent efforts of our City, County, State and Federal officials to make this possible for the future of Lexington and the southern part of the Triad. Especially the efforts of Senator Burr, Senator Tillis and Congressman Ted Budd. This has been an entire community effort from citizen volunteers, businesses owners, non-profits, government staff, officials and countless others. Again, a tremendous thank you to our federal government’s willingness to invest in Lexington and our region’s future infrastructure needs.

Sen. Burr said:

“Today’s federal grant award is a major investment in the City of Lexington. This award will better connect Lexington to other economic centers of North Carolina to further the economic development of the area. I am grateful to Secretary Chao for recognizing the importance of this project and I applaud the dedicated work our state and local officials put into bringing this highly competitive grant to the community.”

Sen. Tillis said:

“This morning, I spoke with DOT Secretary Elaine Chao and she informed me that Lexington is being awarded a nearly $25 million grant that will transform rail and bus travel in the barbeque capital of the world," said Senator Tillis. "After advocating on behalf of Lexington, I am proud we could secure these funds to construct a rail and bus station in Lexington's Depot District and make much needed improvements downtown.”

U.S. Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao said:

“This Administration is making significant investments in infrastructure, and these BUILD grants will repair, rebuild, and revitalize transportation systems across America.”