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USDOT is hosting its next Meaningful Public Involvement Training on February 18 at 2:00-4:00 p.m. ET. This is a quarterly virtual training that is based on USDOT's Promising Practices for Meaningful Public Involvement in Transportation Decision-Making. The training provides key considerations, resources, strategies, and approaches for practitioners seeking to establish or improve public involvement techniques. Additionally, this training will highlight one or more case studies of implementation of innovative public engagement strategies or initiatives. Registration is required; register here to attend the training. Registration slots are limited – please ensure you are able to attend and fully participate in the training before registering. Please note that the content of this training will be similar to that of the trainings hosted in 2024.
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The U.S. DOT Climate Change Center 2025 Webinar Series has been announced! Register for monthly webinars on a range of climate and transportation topics throughout 2025, including nature-based solutions for transportation resilience, sustainable aviation fuel, repricing transportation, economic benefits of resilience, sustainable freight, and more!
- The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) published the primer, “Introduction to the Role of Operations Strategies and Treatments in Complete Streets Projects.” The primer highlights operations considerations throughout the planning, design, and implementation of Complete Streets projects. Operations encompasses intentional strategies, tools, and actions applied to roadway systems that provide safe and reliable mobility for all road users. The primer identifies strategies that help transportation agencies achieve Complete Streets objectives, construct data-driven key performance measures, and create a Complete Streets design framework.
Recent USDOT Awards and Investments
- On January 10, in one of his last major announcements as U.S. Transportation Secretary, Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced nearly $5 billion in grants for 560+ projects in all 50 states, D.C., and U.S. territories through seven priority programs funded through President Biden’s historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law: the Railroad Crossing Elimination Program, the Restoration and Enhancement Grants Program, the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Program, the Airport Infrastructure Grants Program, the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (Rural), and the Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program. This funding will support state- and locally-led projects of all kinds, adding to the more than 72,000 Bipartisan Infrastructure Law-funded projects currently moving forward nationwide and the pipeline of projects that will be delivered in the coming years and decades.
- The Federal Transit Administration (FTA) announced $9.6 million in grants to 26 American Indian Tribes and Alaska Native communities to improve their public transit systems in 14 states. The competitive grants through FTA's Tribal Transit Program enable Tribes to buy transit vehicles, upgrade bus facilities, and expand or improve transit service.
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FHWA awarded $44.5 million in grants for communities in 13 states and Puerto Rico under its Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP). Authorized through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the grants will be used to plan, design, and construct projects for connected networks that lead to destinations and make communities safer for bikers and pedestrians while increasing access to public transit.
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FHWA awarded $635 million in grants to continue building out electric vehicle (EV) charging and alternative fueling infrastructure with funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s signature zero-emission refueling infrastructure programs. The grants fund 49 projects that will deploy more than 11,500 EV charging ports and hydrogen and natural gas fueling infrastructure along corridors and in communities across 27 states, four Federally Recognized Tribes, and the District of Columbia.
- The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) provides the framework for environmental planning and decision-making by federal agencies. As projects have become more complex and multi-faceted, NEPA documents have become dense and difficult to navigate, often requiring multiple review cycles before they are ready for publication. In alignment with ongoing efforts at USDOT to improve the NEPA process, on December 23, USDOT announced the winners of the Modernizing NEPA Challenge, which rewarded the use of accessible and interactive innovations to make the NEPA review process easier to navigate. Winning projects are aimed at incentivizing collaborative, real-time reviews to save time and improve the quality of NEPA documents. The nine winners of the Challenge were awarded individual prizes of $50,000 each. The full list of NEPA challenge applicants and technologies they utilized can be found here. There will be a webinar showcasing winners. More information will be posted here when available.
The USDOT Discretionary Grants Dashboard provides communities with an overview of discretionary grant opportunities that can help meet their transportation infrastructure needs. The list below spotlights a few of the currently open funding opportunities – visit the Grants Dashboard to find more or check out the calendar of open and upcoming grant opportunities!
Closing Soon!
- USDOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program provides grants for surface transportation infrastructure projects with significant local or regional impact. The eligibility requirements of RAISE allow project sponsors, including state and local governments, counties, Tribal governments, transit agencies, and port authorities, to pursue multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional projects that are more difficult to fund through other grant programs. View the FY2025 RAISE Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Applications are due no later than 11:59 p.m. ET on January 30, 2025. Visit the RAISE webinar series page to find recordings and materials from past webinars.
- Do you have a project or program that can put Road to Zero’s pillars into practice, advance the Safe System Approach, and help reduce roadway deaths and serious injuries? The application for the Road to Zero Community Traffic Safety Grants, funded by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), is open until 11:55 p.m. ET on January 31, 2025. These 12-month grants fund organizations in the U.S. that are working on innovative and promising approaches for implementing evidence-based strategies. Awards will be announced in March 2025. For more information and to apply, visit the Community Traffic Safety Grants website, where you can also view the work of current and past grantees. If you have questions that are not answered there, contact RoadToZero@nsc.org.
Other Grant Opportunities
- USDOT’s Build America Bureau (Bureau) released a NOFO for the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program. Created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the program offers $27 million in technical assistance grants to rural and tribal communities for the planning and design phase development of transportation projects. There is no local funding match required to participate in this program. The Bureau designated up to $10 million for Tribal applicants. The Bureau will accept applications on a first-come, first-served basis beginning March 4, 2025, at 2:00 p.m. ET. The Bureau posted a copy of the application on the website for interested entities to review and draft responses in advance. The application portal will close on April 3, 2025, at 4:59 p.m. ET. The Bureau hosted a webinar on Tuesday, January 14, 2025 about the application process and what activities can be funded through the program – a recording of the webinar and a copy of the presentation are available at Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program | Build America (transportation.gov).
- FHWA has posted the Fiscal Years (FY) 2024-2026 NOFO for the Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-Saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Program, a competitive grant program created by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to help make surface transportation more resilient to natural hazards, including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters. This NOFO offers a total of up to $876 million in funding through two application periods, including up to $576 million for FYs 2024 and 2025, and up to $300 million for FY 2026. The FY 2024-2025 application period opened on October 25, 2024 and will remain open for applications through February 24, 2025. Visit the PROTECT Discretionary Grant Program Website to find recordings and slides from webinars FHWA hosted in November on the PROTECT grant opportunity.
- The Maritime Administration (MARAD)’s Port Infrastructure Development Program (PIDP) funds projects that improve the safety, efficiency, or reliability of the movement of goods into, out of, around, or within a port. MARAD has made $450 million available for the FY 2025 round of the PIDP and is accepting applications until April 30, 2025. View the NOFO for more information.
In preparing your application for any of the above programs, be sure to read the specific Notice of Funding Opportunity and related program materials to ensure your project and organization are eligible and you are meeting other program/application requirements. General information to help prepare for DOT applications can also be found on the DOT Navigator, including the Discretionary Grant Preparation Checklist for Prospective Applicants.
With the goal of passing along outside resources specifically designed to build local capacity, especially for disadvantaged urban, rural, and tribal communities, to successfully develop transportation projects and funding applications, the DOT Navigator Bulletin includes opportunities that have been shared with the Department. Their inclusion does not indicate USDOT endorsement.
- On January 6, 2025, the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) published the FY 2024 Building Resilient Infrastructure and Communities (BRIC) NOFO, which makes $750 million available for award. These funds will help state, local, Tribal and territorial governments address high-level future risks of natural disasters, foster greater community resilience, and reduce disaster suffering. The application period is open until April 18, 2025. Sub-applicants are encouraged to contact the state, territory, or Tribal applicant, as they may have earlier deadlines. For a brief synopsis of the FEMA-BRIC program, see the program fact sheet.
- The study, “Exploring the geographical equity-efficiency tradeoff in cycling infrastructure planning,” published by the Journal of Transport Geography, explores equity driven planning strategies for the implementation of bicycling network expansion. The study examines tradeoffs in spatial coverage that balances equity and efficiency metrics. Results indicate that addressing accessibility at the regional level versus city-wide allows for the most effective networks connecting people to high-opportunity destinations, though the benefits serve communities with existing bike infrastructure.
- The Journal of Urban Health published the article, “The Promises and Potential Pitfalls of Highway Reclamation for Population Health: A Research Framework.” The article presents a framework for analyzing the impacts of highway reclamation on local communities, suggesting that physical environment, local economy, and social environment are all key indicators that determine long-term effects. The research seeks to balance the tradeoffs of highway reclamation projects through an examination of these indicators for both displaced and incoming residents. Understanding how those tradeoffs affect those separate populations can identify an effective pathway towards urban health equity.
If you have information or resources you would like to be considered for inclusion in future USDOT Navigator biweekly bulletins, reach out to USDOTAssist@dot.gov.
Click the link below to join the listserv or visit the USDOT Navigator to find information and resources on applying for USDOT grants and planning for and delivering transformative infrastructure projects and services.
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