Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects

 

The Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects (NSMFHP) program will provide Federal financial assistance to highway, freight rail, port, and intermodal projects of national or regional significance.

Active 20.934 Office of The Secretary, Department of Transportation B - Project Grants Fiscal Year 2016 On September 7, 2016, Secretary Anthony Foxx awarded $759.2 million to 18 projects across the nation. For example, $42 million was awarded to the Massachusetts Port Authority for the Conley Terminal and Intermodal Improvements and Modernization Project.
Fiscal Year 2017 To date, 16 of the 18 projects awarded on September 7, 2016 have been obligated.
Fiscal Year 2021 In FY 2021, the Department awarded approximately $900 million to 24 highway, rail, and port projects in 18 states that will improve local economies, create jobs, address climate change and advance racial equity goals. These projects were selected from a pool of 157 eligible applications requesting approximately $6.8 billion in federal grant assistance.
Fiscal Year 2022 The Department received more than 250 applications seeking INFRA funding in FY2022. Evaluation is still underway and selections are expected in the fall of 2022.
Fiscal Year 2023 The application due date for FY 2023 and FY 2024 funding is August 21, 2023. In 2022, the Department awarded 26 INFRA projects approximately $1.5 billion in funding. The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021, Public Law 117-58, 23 U.S.C. 117
The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (Pub. L. 117-58, November 15, 2021) authorized $8 billion to be awarded by the Department of Transportation (“DOT”) in 2022-2026 for Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects Program. Eligible applicants for NSFHP grants are 1) a State or group of States; 2) a metropolitan planning organization that serves an urbanized area (as defined by the Bureau of the Census) with a population of more than 200,000 individuals; 3) a unit of local government or group of local governments; 4) a political subdivision of a State or local government; 5) a special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function, including a port authority; 6) a Federal land management agency that applies jointly with a State or group of States; 7) a tribal government or a consortium of tribal governments; or 8) a multi-State or multijurisdictional group of public entities. Multiple States or jurisdictions that submit a joint application must identify a lead applicant as the primary point of contact. Each applicant in a joint application must be an Eligible Applicant. Joint applications must include a description of the roles and responsibilities of each applicant and must be signed by each applicant. Eligible applicants for NSFHP grants are 1) a State or group of States; 2) a metropolitan planning organization that serves an urbanized area (as defined by the Bureau of the Census) with a population of more than 200,000 individuals; 3) a unit of local government or group of local governments; 4) a political subdivision of a State or local government; 5) a special purpose district or public authority with a transportation function, including a port authority; 6) a Federal land management agency that applies jointly with a State or group of States; 7) a tribal government or a consortium of tribal governments; or 8) a multi-State or multijurisdictional group of public entities. Multiple States or jurisdictions that submit a joint application must identify a lead applicant as the primary point of contact. Each applicant in a joint application must be an Eligible Applicant. Joint applications must include a description of the roles and responsibilities of each applicant and must be signed by each applicant. To submit an application through Grants.gov, applicants must: Obtain a Unique Entity Identifier number (UEI); Register with the System Award for Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov; Create a Grants.gov username and password; and The E-business Point of Contact (POC) at the applicant's organization must respond to the registration email from Grants.gov and login at Grants.gov to authorize the POC as an Authorized Organization Representative (AOR). Please note that there can only be one AOR per organization. Preapplication coordination is required. This program is eligible for coverage under E.O. 12372, "Intergovernmental Review of Federal Programs." An applicant should consult the office or official designated as the single point of contact in his or her State for more information on the process the State requires to be followed in applying for assistance, if the State has selected the program for review. For additional information, please contact Paul Baumer at: Paul.Baumer@DOT.GOV or MPDGrants@dot.gov 2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. Applications are solicited through Grants.gov and the publication of a Notice of Funding Opportunity in the Federal Register. Applications must be submitted for each round by the published application deadline. Additional information on Application requirements can be found in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The IIJA authorizes the NSMFHP program at $8 billion for fiscal years (FY) 2022-2026, to be awarded by DOT on a competitive basis to projects of national or regional significance that meet statutory requirements. NSMFHP grants may be used for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, acquisition of property (including land related to the project and improvements to the land), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, equipment acquisition, and operational improvements directly related to system performance. NSMFHP grants may also fund developmental phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering, design, and other preconstruction activities, provided the project meets statutory requirements including that they are based on the results of preliminary engineering. Large projects funded with NSMFHP grants must be reasonably expected to begin construction not later than 18 months after the date funds are obligated for the project. June 29, 2017 to November 2, 2017 Projects will be awarded NSFHP funding no later than September 30, 2018. Contact the headquarters or regional location, as appropriate for application deadlines The competition timeline, including evaluation, selection, and notification, varies from 4-9 months. Not applicable. Not applicable. The selection criteria are published in the Notice of Funding Opportunity. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law authorizes the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highway Projects program at $8 billion for fiscal years FY 2022-FY2026, to be awarded by DOT on a competitive basis to projects of national or regional significance that meet statutory requirements. NSMFHP grants may be used for the construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, acquisition of property (including land related to the project and improvements to the land), environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, equipment acquisition, and operational improvements directly related to system performance. NSMFHP grants may also fund developmental phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering, design, and other preconstruction activities, provided the project meets statutory requirements including that they are based on the results of preliminary engineering. All large projects funded with NSMFHP grants must be reasonably expected to begin construction not later than 18 months after the date funds are obligated for the project. The Department will divide grants under the NSMFHP program into large and small projects. For large projects, the IIJA specifies that NSMFHP grants must be at least $25 million. For small projects, the grants must be at least $5 million. For both large and small projects, maximum NSMFHP awards may not exceed 60 percent of future eligible project costs. At least 15% of funding are reserved for small projects. Applicants are strongly encouraged to submit applications only for eligible award amounts. No more than 30% of funding per year may be used for grants to freight rail, water (including ports), or other freight intermodal projects that make significant improvements to freight movement on the National Highway Freight Network. Only the non-highway portion(s) of multimodal projects count toward the 30% maximum. Improving freight movement on the National Highway Freight Network may include shifting freight transportation to other modes, thereby reducing congestion and bottlenecks on the National Highway Freight Network. Grade crossing and grade separation projects do not count toward the 30% maximum for freight rail, port, and intermodal projects. The FAST Act directs at least 25 percent of the funds provided for NSFHP grants, are to be used for projects located in rural areas. If the Department does not receive enough qualified applications to fully award the 25 percent reserved for rural projects, the Department may use the excess funding for non-rural awards. DOT must consider geographic diversity among grant recipients, including the need for a balance in addressing the needs of urban and rural areas. Not applicable. The program follows 2 CFR 200 audit requirements. Any awarding procedures, documentation of expenditures and copies of reports as well as policies and procedures for the life of the grant. Statutory Formula: Title 23 Chapter 202 Part 117 Public Law 117-58

Matching is voluntary. 20%. NSMFHP grants may be used for up to 60 percent of future eligible project costs. Other Federal assistance may satisfy the non-Federal share requirement for an NSMFHP grant, but total Federal assistance for a project receiving an NSMFHP grant may not exceed 80 percent of the future eligible project costs. Unless otherwise authorized in statute, local cost-share that exceed the 80 percent Federal-share maximum will not be considered matching funds if the source of those funds is ultimately a Federal program. Non-Federal sources include State funds originating from programs funded by State revenue, local funds originating from State or local revenue funded programs, private funds or other funding sources of non-Federal origins. Funds from the Tribal Transportation Program (23 U.S.C. 202), TIFIA, a Federal land management agency, or other Federal source that is expressly authorized in statute may be used for the non-Federal share. Unless otherwise authorized in statute, local cost-share may not be counted as non-Federal share for both the NSMFHP and another Federal program. For any project, the Department cannot consider previously incurred costs or previously expended or encumbered funds towards the matching requirement. Matching funds are subject to the same Federal requirements as awarded funds.

This program has MOE requirements, see funding agency for further details. Additional Information: INFRA funding is available to be obligated for up to 3 years following the year of authorization. For FY22 Funding, the funding is available to be obligated until September 30, 2025. Funding can be awarded through the approval of an allocation of funding to a State Department of Transportation, a metropolitan planning organization, or through the successful execution of a grant agreement. Additional information is available at www.transportation.gov/grants/infra-grants-program, or at MPDgrants@dot.gov. Paul Baumer
U.S. Department of Transportation, Office of the Secretary of Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE,
Washington, DC 20590 US
MPDgrants@dot.gov
Phone: (202) 366-1092 https://www.transportation.gov/grants/infra-grant-program 69-8083-0-7-401 (Project Grants (Discretionary)) FY 22$1,550,000,000.00; FY 23 est $1,510,000,000.00; FY 24 est $1,530,000,000.00; FY 21 - For large projects, IIJA specifies that an INFRA grant must be at least $25 million. The average large project award from FY 2016-2020 was $67.7 million. The largest award was approximately $184 million. For small projects, the minimum award is $5 million. The average small project from FY 2016-FY2020 was $10.6 million. The largest award was approximately $35.6 million. The FAST Act directs that at least 25 percent of the funds provided for INFRA grants must be used for projects located in rural areas. From FY 2016-FY 2020 approximately 47% of funding was awarded to projects in rural areas. The USDOT must consider geographic diversity among grant recipients, including the need for a balance in addressing the needs of urban and rural areas. From FY 2016-FY 2021, NSFHP funding has been awarded to projects in 44 States and the District of Columbia. Not applicable. Fiscal Year 2016 On September 7, 2016, Secretary Anthony Foxx awarded $759.2 million to 18 projects across the nation. For example, $42 million was awarded to the Massachusetts Port Authority for the Conley Terminal and Intermodal Improvements and Modernization Project.
Fiscal Year 2017 To date, 16 of the 18 projects awarded on September 7, 2016 have been obligated.
Fiscal Year 2019 In FY 2019, the Department proposed 20 projects would receive funding, including examples such as the Howard Street Tunnel project in Baltimore, MD, and the Mobile River Bridge and Bayway Replacement Project in Mobile, AL. For a full list of projects from FY 2019 and previous rounds, visit www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/infragrants.
Fiscal Year 2021 You can find a list of awarded projects at https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/financing/infra-grants/infrastructure-rebuilding-america
Fiscal Year 2022 Funded projects include: -A project replacing two Interstate bridges in an rural area -A project to replace an underutilized urban freeway trench with an at-grade boulevard -A project to add multimodal freight capacity at a major port -a project to repair a freight rail bridge in a rural area