The U.S. Department of Transportation is awarding Los Angeles a $213 million grant to alleviate traffic congestion, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Mary Peters has announced.

The grant will allow local leaders to move forward with a plan to cut highway traffic jams and provide better bus transit to improve the state’s traffic, economy and air quality, Secretary Peters said.

“Having the federal government as our partner on this important project is what makes today extra special,” Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger said. “This is just the beginning of what I hope is more federal funding for infrastructure projects coming California’s way.”

The $213 million awarded to California is part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Urban Partnership Agreement, aimed at reducing urban congestion. The funds will allow the L.A. Metro to make a number of upgrades, including purchasing buses and improving park and ride lots and bus access.

Secretary Peters said the new federal funding would also provide the leverage local leaders need to convert up to 85 miles of local HOV highway lanes into more reliable high occupancy toll, or HOT, lanes by the end of 2010.