FY26 Washington Union Station Exterior Lighting Upgrade Project
This award funds construction for the Washington Union Station Exterior Lighting Upgrade Project to improve exterior lighting, public safety/security, and station appearance at Union Station, for the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation only.
RESTRICTED TO: SINGLE NAMED INSTITUTION
⚑ Congressional Directed Spending (CDS) award · single eligible applicant: Union Station Redevelopment Corporation · application is for construction of exterior lighting improvements, not research
Unit fits — one characterization, each unit's own rules
| IPPRA | 5 none | limited competition — a named institution holds this |
| Tom Love Innovation Hub | 5 none | not openly competed |
| Physical Sciences & Engineering (demo) | 5 none | limited competition — a named institution holds this |
Description
The purpose of this award is to fund a Fiscal Year (FY) 2026 Federal-State Partnership for Intercity Passenger Rail – Congressional Directed Spending (CDS) grant for the Washington Union Station Exterior Lighting Upgrade Project (the Project). The Washington Union Station Exterior Lighting Upgrade Project funds Construction and will enhance public safety/security, lighting uniformity, the public experience, and station identity through improvements to the exterior lighting of the historic facade. Lighting will be significantly enhanced at the main entrance elevation facing Columbus Circle and along the exterior colonnade. The main entrance elevation will be illuminated with new, focused light-emitting diode (LED) fixtures mounted to streetlight poles and in-ground up lights, linear lighting at the ziggurats, and discreet spotlights to highlight the statues. The Union Station Redevelopment Corporation (USRC) is the only eligible entity able to apply.
Eligibility
Union Station Redevelopment Corporation is only entity eligible to apply.
Apply
View on Grants.gov → CONTACT: DOT - Federal Railroad Administration <help@grantsolutions.gov>
Proposal brief SEE AN EXAMPLE →
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Legacy IPPRA LLM assessment (v2.0, for comparison)
0/100 · gpt-5.4-mini · 2026-07-06
This is a construction grant for a specific station lighting upgrade project, not a research, evaluation, or data infrastructure opportunity. It has only indirect relevance to public safety/security and the user-facing experience, but no social science or policy research component that IPPRA could lead. Eligibility is restricted to the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, so a public university is not eligible.
Legacy scoring history
| 2026-07-06 | 0 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is a construction grant for a specific station lighting upgrade project, not a research, evaluation, or data infrastructure opportunity. It has only indirect relevance to public safety/security and the user-facing experience, but no social science or policy research component that IPPRA could lead. Eligibility is restricted to the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, so a public university is not eligible. |
| 2026-07-06 | 0 | gpt-5.4-mini | This is a construction grant for exterior lighting upgrades at Washington Union Station, with a primarily facilities/engineering and historic-preservation purpose. It does mention public safety and the public experience, but there is no meaningful research, behavioral, policy, or community-component fit for IPPRA, and eligibility is restricted to the Union Station Redevelopment Corporation, so a public university could not apply. |