ROUTES Quarterly Newsletter - Winter 2021

U.S. Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 02/04/2021 11:50 AM EST

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The ROUTES (Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success) Initiative aims to address disparities in rural transportation infrastructure by developing user-friendly tools and resources, aggregating pre-existing DOT resources into a single web resource, and providing technical assistance. If you want to learn more about ROUTES, or how it can help your community, you can visit the ROUTES Initiative website reach the ROUTES team at rural@dot.gov.

ROUTES News

 Funding & Financing

New Build America Bureau NOFOs

Grant Announcements

Active Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs)

Publications

New NHTSA Safety Data

ROUTES Updates

Upcoming Webinar Feb. 24 - TIFIA Rural Project Initiative

In 2018 the Build America Bureau at U.S. DOT launched the TIFIA Rural Project Initiative, with the goal of expanding the use of low-cost finance in underresourced rural communities. The TIFIFA program is U.S. DOT's surface transportation credit program, and provides borrower-friendly terms for projects of regional and national significance at an interest rate equal to the U.S. Treasury (which is typically lower than private market rates). The Rural Project Initiative provides borrowers with all the benefits of a traditional TIFIA loan, along with the exclusive ability to access interest rates at 50% of the U.S. Treasury rate and the ability to finance a larger portion of the project. The first Rural Project Initiatives loans closed in the fall of 2020.

This webinar will provide an overview of the the TIFIA Rural Project Initiative and showcase the first two projects that successfully reached financial close. Both projects are maintenance and operations facilities for transit providers. The webinar is free and will take place February 24 at 3:30 PM ET. The webinar will be recorded and made available on our website. 

Click here to register!

Recording Available for December Webinar - Benefit Cost Analysis (BCA) for Rural Projects

Benefit Cost Analyses (BCAs) are required for most discretionary grants at USDOT, and can be one of the most challenging parts of the application. BCA is a systematic process for identifying, quantifying, and comparing expected benefits and costs of a potential infrastructure project. The information provided in the applicants’ BCAs will be evaluated by U.S. DOT and used to help ensure that the available funding under the programs is devoted to projects that provide substantial economic benefits to users and the nation as a whole, relative to the resources required to implement those projects.

This webinar provides an overview of what BCAs are and what U.S. DOT is looking for in grant applications, data resources that applicants can use to develop BCAs for their projects, and examples of how a BCA can be approached. More information about DOT's Office of the Chief Economist, including a link to the most recent BCA guidance, can be found here. A recording of the webinar can be accessed here, and the slides are available here.

 

Transportation Research Board Annual Meeting

The Transportation Research Board (TRB)'s 100th Annual Meeting was held virtually in January 2021. To better coordinate research on rural transportation issues, TRB has established a new Rural Transportation Issues Coordinating Council (A0040C), which held several events at the Annual Meeting. In support of this new Coordinating Council, information on the ROUTES Initiative was presented at Session 1280: Hot Topics in Rural Transportation. Members of the ROUTES team also spoke at the meetings of several committees that include a rural focus, including the Committee on Equity in Transportation (AME10), the Committee on Native American Transportation Issues (AME30), the Committee on Transportation Planning Analysis and Application (AEP15), and the Committee on Rural, Intercity Bus, and Specialized Transportation (APO55).

More information about the TRB Annual Meeting can be found here. For those who registered for the annual meeting, recordings of the sessions can be viewed until February 16.

Funding & Financing

 

NOFOs Released for Regional Infrastructure Accelerators & RRIF Express

The Bureau released a NOFO on December 31, 2020, for the establishment of up to five Regional Infrastructure Accelerators. These Accelerators would provide assistance and act as a resource to regional entities (e.g. counties, towns, economic development agencies, etc.) as they develop transportation infrastructure programs and projects that could be eligible for DOT credit assistance. The goal of this program is to help project sponsors develop internal capacity and navigate the application process for DOT credit programs. The program is accepting applications through March 31; more information can be found here and the notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) is here.

The Bureau also released a new NOFO for the RRIF Express program. RRIF Express is part of the Railroad Rehabilitation & Improvement Financing (RRIF) program, which provides low-interest financing to acquire, improve, or rehabilitate intermodal or rail equipment and facilities. The RRIF Express program is designed to make the RRIF program more accessible to smaller Class II & III railroads (along with commuter rail and joint ventures). For eligible projects under $150 million, DOT is able to pay the credit risk premium and provide advisory fee assistance in addition to the regular terms of a RRIF loan. More information can be found here.

Grant Announcements

The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) awarded 25 grants to tribal governments as part of the Tribal Transit Program in November 2020. The $7.7 million worth of grant funds will go to projects that support public transportation on tribal lands. Grant funds can support capital projects, operations costs, and planning activities. In addition to this competitive funding, FTA provides $30 million in formula funding to tribes. The full list of awards can be found here.

The Federal Highway Administration(FHWA) awarded $49.6 million to 10 projects as part of the Advanced Transportation and Congestion Management Technologies Deployment (ATCMTD) grant program. This program funds early deployments of forward-looking technologies that can serve as national models. This year, in addition to ITS technologies to reduce congestion, the grants will fund projects that operate with connected and automated vehicle technologies. More information about ATCMTD can be found here.

Active Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs)

ROUTES maintains a running list of open NOFOs applicable to rural transportation. This list can be found here, along with historical information on these grants (including prior NOFOs). 

All Federal grants, including transportation grants, can be found at grants.gov. To find transportation related funding opportunities, select "All Department of Transportation" under the "Agency" menu on the left-hand side.

New Publications

NHTSA Releases New Safety Data

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released several reports and analyses over the last few months pertaining to rural areas.

 

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