Delaware’s Department of Transportation receives part of a $249 million grant to install medium and heavy-duty zero-emission vehicle charging infrastructure on I-95.
Delaware will manage almost $14 million of the total grant award – the entirety awarded to the Clean Corridor Coalition, led by the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection.
Other partners with DelDOT include the Maryland Department of Transportation, the Maryland Department of Environment, and the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental Protection.
Director of Transportation Resilience and Sustainability Stephanie Johnson says there will be one charging location located along a portion of I-95 or 495. DelDOT and DNREC will work with the public and stakeholders to determine the best location.
“That’s the most heavily used freight corridor in the nation," Johnson says. "And we want to make sure that we are reducing the diesel pollution. We also know that it’s a rapidly growing source of air pollution.”
An average of 120,000 vehicles travel Delaware’s portion of the interstate daily. Transportation emissions are the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions in the state.
“But we need to figure out how best that we can serve the needs that freight vehicles provide," Johnson says. "But do it in a way that doesn’t contribute to air pollution and that serves our communities best.”
Johnson says through projects like this they also hope to incentivize the private trucking industry to transition to electric vehicles and spur more electric vehicle infrastructure along the corridor.
Johnson says the formal start of coalition efforts would be January 2025, with an overall project end date set for 2030.
