Austin lost its bid to become the winner of $50 million in the Smart City Challenge from the U.S. Department of Transportation and Vulcan Philanthropy to Columbus, Ohio, according to a report in The Columbus Dispatch.
Columbus beat Austin, Denver, Portland, Oregon, Kansas City, Missouri, Pittsburgh and San Francisco to win the first Smart City Challenge.
U.S. Secretary of Transportation Anthony Foxx visited Austin last month and met with Austin Mayor Steve Adler and other city leaders to support its bid. Foxx also met with all of the other finalists. And all of the cities recently went to Washington, D.C. to give their final presentations.
The Columbus Dispatch wrote that federal officials will be in town on Thursday to officially announce the city as the winner.
“The city also has about $90 million in local matching commitments lined up, including $19 million in public money,” according to The Columbus Disptach. “That gives it a total of $140 million to upgrade Columbus’ transportation network.”
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