ROUTES Initiative Quarterly Newsletter

U.S. Department of Transportation sent this bulletin at 12/16/2021 09:25 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 information, aggregating  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, visit the ROUTES Initiative website or reach the ROUTES team at rural@dot.gov.

USDOT Updates

DOT Seeks Comments on Draft Strategic Framework

Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's Impact on Rural Transportation

Funding & Financing

RAISE Grant Awards

TIFIA Rural Project Loan for Transit Operator

America's Marine Highways

Active Notices of Funding Opportunities (NOFOs)

Other News

FTA Connecting Rural Communities Awards

Road Fatalities Spike in Early 2021

Transportation at National Parks

Building Out a Nationwide EV Charging Network

ROUTES Updates

DOT Seeks Comment on Strategic Framework

DOT has released a Request for Comments (RFC), open through December 17, 2021, asking the public to help shape the Department’s goals and priorities as we work to transform the nation’s transportation system making it safer, more accessible, more reliable, and multi-modal, in order to increase economic strength, improve climate and equity outcomes, and build global competitiveness for the American people. 

The RFC allows the public to review and comment on the draft DOT Strategic Framework – specifically the draft strategic goals and strategic objectives – and respond to the following questions: 

  1. What strategies or priorities should DOT adopt to achieve the Department’s strategic goals and objectives?  
  2. How should DOT measure progress towards those priorities?  
  3. What emerging challenges or opportunities in transportation warrant additional DOT activities or investments? 
  4. How can DOT best coordinate its activities with Federal, State, local, Tribal, labor, private sector, academic, non-profit, international and other partners? 
  5. How can DOT best utilize additional programs and authorities in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to accomplish the goals laid out in the strategic plan?  

We encourage you to participate in this process ahead of the comment period closing on December 17, 2021. Please see the Federal Register Notice and Press Release for more information. 

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law's Impact on Rural Transportation

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help rural communities repair roads and bridges, improve transportation options, upgrade airports, ports and inland ports to ensure that people and goods alike can move safely and efficiently. It will also ensure that rural communities receive the benefits of a national network of electric vehicle chargers, reducing range anxiety and allowing rural drivers who drive longer distances save more on gas. The BIL will rebuild and repair rural infrastructure, provide connectivity that will spur economic growth in rural communities, and create jobs in communities across the country.

This includes the establishment of a new program that will provide $2 billion over the next five years for projects that improve and expand the surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas. The goals of the program include increasing connectivity, improving safety and reliability of the movement of people and freight, and generating regional economic growth and improving quality of life.

DOT has developed a series of state-by-state fact sheets with more information on the bill's key transportation provisions, as well as a fact sheet for Tribal communities.

Funding & Financing

Nearly $500 Million for Rural Infrastructure from Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grants

The Secretary awarded nearly $1 billion to 90 projects across 47 states, in addition to DC and Guam, through the RAISE program. The program selection criteria encompassed safety, environmental sustainability, quality of life, economic competitiveness, state of good repair, innovation, and partnerships with a broad range of stakeholders. Within these criteria, the grants reflect the Department’s priorities for creating good-paying jobs, improving safety, applying transformative technology, and explicitly addressing climate change and advancing racial equity. Half of the grant funding went to projects in rural areas.

A full list of projects that received capital grants can be found here, and a full list of projects that received planning grants can be found here.

$20 Million TIFIA Loan for Rural Transit Provider

The Build America Bureau has provided a direct Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) 35-year loan of up to $19.92 million under its Rural Projects Initiative (RPI) to Napa Valley Transportation Authority (NVTA) for the Vine Bus Maintenance Facility Project (the Project). NVTA plans to construct a 31,504–square foot transit maintenance facility with a 40-year useful life to replace its currently leased transit yard in the city of Napa, California, providing NVTA a facility that meets its needs, including charging infrastructure for NVTA’s new electric bus fleet.

The Project will provide a variety of benefits including addressing growing transit needs to reduce emissions from single occupancy vehicles, improving operational efficiencies and safety of fleet management and providing photovoltaic system to support electric vehicles zero-emission targets. The Project will also create 624 direct and indirect jobs and spur growth/development in the area.

More information on TIFIA RPI can be found here.

Grants for America's Marine Highways

The Maritime Administration (MARAD) awarded $12.6 million in grants to nine marine highway projects across the Nation under the America’s Marine Highway Program. The funding will help address supply chain disruptions, enhance the movement of goods along our navigable waterways, and expand existing waterborne freight services in Delaware, Hawaii, Indiana, Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, New York, New Jersey, Tennessee, Texas, and Virginia.   

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.

Other News

FTA Recognizes Outstanding Rural Transit Agencies That Have Gone Above and Beyond for Their Communities Amid the Pandemic

Six rural transit agencies that helped connect their communities and deliver critical services over the past year received national recognition earlier this October. The FTA named agencies in Massachusetts, Maryland, Mississippi, Montana, Nebraska and Texas as recipients of the "Connecting Rural Communities" Award for their exemplary work during the pandemic to provide transportation to essential workers and improve the quality of life in their communities. FTA Administrator Nuria Fernandez announced the awards as part of the National Conference on Rural, Public and Intercity Bus Transportation.

"From converting buses into vaccination clinics, to delivering meals to senior citizens and students, to bringing healthy groceries to food deserts and reaching underserved people, these six transit agencies and their workers went above and beyond," said Administrator Fernandez. "Our agency is proud to support transit agencies around the country who are playing such essential roles in the communities they serve." 

This year's "Connecting Rural Communities" awards recognize rural transit providers that have improved the mobility of Americans in rural areas. Specifically, these systems served their communities by providing access to vital services during the COVID-19 pandemic, advanced equity for all, including individuals who have been historically underserved and adversely affected by persistent poverty or income inequality, and improved the safety of rural transit.

Road Fatalities Spiked in First Half of 2021

The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) released the Early Estimate of Motor Vehicle Traffic Fatalities for the First Half (January-June) of 2021, which shows the largest six-month increase ever recorded in the Fatality Analysis Reporting System’s history. An estimated 20,160 people died in motor vehicle crashes in the first half of 2021, up 18.4% over 2020. That’s the largest number of projected fatalities in that time period since 2006. In addition to the traffic fatality data, NHTSA also released behavioral research findings from March 2020 through June 2021, indicating that incidents of speeding and traveling without a seatbelt remain higher than during pre-pandemic times. 

“This is a crisis. More than 20,000 people died on U.S. roads in the first six months of 2021, leaving countless loved ones behind. We cannot and should not accept these fatalities as simply a part of everyday life in America,” said Secretary Buttigieg. “We are announcing that we will produce the Department’s first ever National Roadway Safety Strategy to identify action steps for everyone working to save lives on the road. No one will accomplish this alone. It will take all levels of government, industries, advocates, engineers, and communities across the country working together toward the day when family members no longer have to say goodbye to loved ones because of a traffic crash.” 

The Department’s first ever National Roadway Safety Strategy will bring together work being done across USDOT and will put forth a comprehensive set of actions to significantly reduce serious injuries and deaths on our nation’s roadways. The strategy will recognize that, while the Department has an important leadership role to play in addressing this crisis, it will take concerted and coordinated effort across all levels of government, the private sector, and communities to reverse the current trend. The strategy will be released in January. 

Secretaries Haaland and Buttigieg Announce Partnership to Increase Access, Enhance Visitor Experience at National Parks

Secretary Buttigieg and Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will strengthen the Departments’ coordination regarding infrastructure investments and the deployment of innovative technologies at National Park Service-managed sites. The new initiatives announced alongside the MOU will increase access, support jobs, and enhance the transportation experience on public lands across the country. 

The MOU outlines priority initiatives – including innovative technology pilots, shared mobility integration, the electrification of major transit fleets, and additional electric vehicle charging stations – which will guide the Departments’ efforts to build world-class transportation systems that provide enhanced access for car-free trips, interpretation, education, and enjoyment opportunities to visitors who want to experience public lands.

The Departments of the Interior and Transportation have had a long partnership for nearly 100 years, with what was then the Bureau of Public Roads. As the Bureau became modernized throughout the 20th century, major rehabilitation projects and new transit became possible at our nation’s most treasured sites, including at Acadia, Grand Canyon and Zion National Parks. This announcement refreshes that partnership by focusing on generational investments in the newest innovation and technology.

DOE and DOT Launch Joint Effort to Build Out Nationwide Electric Vehicle Charging Network

Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm and Secretary Buttigieg signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to create a Joint Office of Energy and Transportation to support the deployment of $7.5 billion from the President's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to build out a national electric vehicle charging network that can build public confidence, with a focus on filling gaps in rural, disadvantaged, and hard-to-reach locations. This is a critical component of the President’s plan to accelerate the adoption of electric vehicles, address the climate crisis and support domestic manufacturing jobs. President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law directs both agencies to collaborate on new programs and initiatives, including the new joint office, that will support the transition of the nation's transportation systems, which currently accounts for 29% of all U.S. carbon pollution, to electric vehicles and other zero-carbon technologies.

The Joint Office will help to accelerate effective deployment of a convenient, reliable, affordable, and equitable national network of charging stations. The Office will provide technical assistant to States and localities so that they can strategically build electric vehicle charging stations and other infrastructure. This assistance will include helping states develop comprehensive plans for charging station networks to guide the implementation of the $7.5 billion program.    

Both agencies are tasked with implementing investments in zero-emission vehicle passenger, transit and heavy-duty vehicles that create cleaner and more affordable transportation options for all Americans. These investments support President Biden’s executive order in August setting a national goal of half of all new vehicles sold in the United States being electric by 2030.  

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