Skip to main content
Thursday, November 12, 2026Nov 12
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

State awards $1.46M to CARTA for facility upgrades, planning

Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / CARTA buses travel along Market Street in downtown Chattanooga. CARTA has been awarded more than $1.4 million in grants from the state to improve facilities and equipment.
Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / CARTA buses travel along Market Street in downtown Chattanooga. CARTA has been awarded more than $1.4 million in grants from the state to improve facilities and equipment. Staff file photo by Matt Hamilton / CARTA buses travel along Market Street in downtown Chattanooga. CARTA has been awarded more than $1.4 million in grants from the state to improve facilities and equipment.

By Raymon Troncoso 3 min read

The Tennessee Department of Transportation is awarding over $1.4 million to the Chattanooga Area Regional Transportation Authority for the current fiscal year, mostly to improve facilities and equipment.

“This funding allows us to make transformative improvements that directly impact both our operators’ safety and our riders’ experience,” CARTA CEO Charles D. Frazier said in a press release announcing the grants. “From protecting our drivers with safety barriers to designing a network of mobility hubs … these grants position CARTA to shape the future of mobility in Southeast Tennessee.”

The grants are part of TDOT’s Improve program, which allocated $21 million to transit agencies statewide for the fiscal year ending in June, with CARTA receiving the second-highest dollar amount after the Clarksville Transit System’s nearly $6 million.

(SIGN UP: Get Business news from the Times Free Press in your inbox five days a week by going to timesfreepress.com/business)

CARTA’s largest grant for $500,000 will go toward upgrading the ventilation and air-conditioning systems at the agency’s main offices at 1617 Wilcox Blvd.