NOFO Archives - Transportation For America

What to know about this year’s SS4A funding

USDOT has released its Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the FY2025 round of the Safe Streets and Roads (SS4A) competitive grant program. Almost $1 billion is available for projects that improve roadway safety for people in and out of a vehicle.

SS4A grants are open to Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), Tribes, municipalities, counties, or business improvement districts for projects to enhance roadway safety. Unlike previous years, transit agencies that aren’t created by state authority are no longer eligible to apply.

Of the available funding, $580 million is intended for implementation grants, while $402.3 million (or 40 percent) is set aside for planning and demonstration grants. Applicants can seek planning funds for road safety action plans, supplemental planning, or quick-build demonstration projects. If they already have a safety action plan, applicants must submit a self-certification eligibility worksheet by email no later than May 9, 2025 (5 p.m. ET). Applications for planning and demonstration grants and implementation grants must be submitted by June 26, 2025 (5 P.M. ET).

The USDOT’s R.O.U.T.E.S. grant toolkit is available to support communities that may need technical assistance in navigating the grant application process. This toolkit is intended to ease the burden for communities, particularly rural or underserved, by providing information on competitive grant opportunities and strategies for putting together a successful application.

What’s changed?

Despite similarities to previous SS4A NOFOs, there are some notable changes that reflect the priorities of the current Presidential administration.

One of the main updates is to the selection criteria section. Economic competitiveness, equity considerations, workforce, and the climate are no longer included. Additionally, projects that reduce lane capacity for vehicles will be viewed less favorably by the administration. Applicants who have not previously received funding from this program will be favored for both planning and implementation grants. To apply for an Implementation grant, applications must certify that they have a recent and valid safety action plan. The components required for a valid safety action plan can now be found in up to three plans recently developed by the applicant. Examples of plans that could be eligible are a local Vision Zero plan or a regional transportation safety plan. The plans must be developed between 2020 and June 26, 2025.

Big opportunity to test roadway change

The SS4A program offers a valuable opportunity for cities, towns, and counties to test roadway changes through quick-build demonstration projects. These temporary, low-cost interventions allow communities to experiment with new street designs, such as bike lanes and safer crosswalks, before making permanent changes.

By testing these improvements, communities can gather feedback, measure the safety impact of the design intervention, and address concerns in real time. Piloting street design changes quickly and cost-effectively can help build valuable momentum towards long-term safety improvements. This was the case in Versailles, Kentucky, which secured an SS4A grant to fund quick-build demonstrations to inform updates to their Regional Safety Action Plan. Temporary installations were implemented to measure the impact of design changes on high-crash areas, and the lessons learned from these projects will guide long-term improvements to these areas and other locations across the county.

Tips for writing a great grant application

SS4A is an important tool to advance roadway safety for all users. That’s why we believe it’s crucial that communities of all sizes capitalize on this opportunity. While there will be scores of competitive applications, we’ve compiled some key strategies that will better position applicants to win these grants:

Communities must align their project objectives with the program criteria. Tailoring projects to meet the program criteria included in the notice of funding opportunity ensures their project is eligible for the program. A competitive application will clearly define the problem the community is facing and specify how the project will address those needs.
Build a diverse coalition of stakeholders, including local leaders and businesses, to demonstrate a broad base of support. Competitive grant programs often require a certain amount of non-federal funding to match the federal dollars. A wide array of supporters can help put together a local match, which can even include in-kind contributions. Additionally, understanding the specific funding program parameters and administrative steps is essential for having a better chance at success.
Preparation is key. Start the process early, and stay informed through webinars listed by the NOFO to get an overview of the opportunity, ask questions, and effectively coordinate your application to ensure your project stands out.

Now is the time to prepare your SS4A Application

SS4A funding can help communities design safer, more connected streets for everyone who uses them. With SS4A applications due by June 26, 2025, cities, towns, counties, or other metro areas interested in pursuing a grant should start planning now to put together a strong, competitive application.

Little-known university research centers could hold the key for transportation solutions

The infrastructure law sets aside funding for university transportation centers (UTCs) to research and provide actionable recommendations on emerging transportation issues. However, in the face of mounting climate resiliency, equity, safety, mobility access, and state of repair concerns, are UTCs poised to meet the moment?

*Map of university transportation centers under the prior infrastructure law, the FAST ACT (2017-2021). Image from USDOT.*

Tucked away in the IIJA funding is about $500 million, a drop in the bucket compared to the cash stream for infrastructure. This money funds UTCs, which are made up of universities and other institutions of higher learning that collaborate to propose research on a specific emerging transportation issue and find actionable solutions.

comic illustration — *States often follow Congress’s lead and devote the majority of their time and resources to more of the same.*

The research that UTCs produce is critically important to the transportation industry. Considering that states have received an unprecedented federal investment, they can either make transformational changes to improve safety, state of repair, and access to opportunities…or they can keep up the status quo strategies that propel economic, social, and health disparities.

State DOTs are under pressure to deliver on core services, leaving little room for thinking about innovation. Private sector consultants are under similar constraints because they have to focus on client deliverables and deadlines. With little time and resources to develop new ideas, these entities are best equipped to deliver more of the same—which is exactly what they tend to do.

UTCs don’t have the same pressure to deliver a core service to the public. In fact, the resource a UTC provides is innovation: they’re the implementation think tank that tests out applications, operations, materials, and approaches that can be readily used by transportation professionals. In addition, UTCs serve as a proving ground for future transportation professionals, educators, and businesses, allowing the ideas UTCs form to flow into the transportation industry through the people and businesses that helped develop them.

Here’s the challenge

Congress has identified key national priorities for the transportation system. Those goals are further translated into research priorities, which UTCs must choose from to compete for federal funding. In other words, UTCs obtain funding by focusing on one of these goals:

Improving mobility of people and goods
Reducing congestion
Promoting safety
Improving the durability and extending the life of transportation infrastructure
Preserving the environment
Preserving the existing transportation system
Reducing transportation cybersecurity risks

These are all valuable goals, but they also intersect. For example, the prevailing solution to congestion is highway widening projects, even though these projects often fail to improve mobility, increase the risk of traffic fatalities, add to the ever-growing number of lanes that require maintenance, and lead to more emissions. If an innovative UTC is looking for a new solution for congestion, they would benefit from the perspectives of UTCs focused on promoting safety, preserving the existing transportation system, improving the mobility of people and goods, and preserving the environment. This collaboration would allow them to find better solutions that don’t run the risk of repeating past mistakes.

Unfortunately, UTCs don’t work together in this way. Under the current approach, we could have a UTC in the Northwest focusing efforts on climate resiliency while a UTC in the South focuses on freight management. Then when it’s time to share their trailblazing research, state DOT politics come into play, meaning the findings might not penetrate equitably across the United States.

This approach creates inequities in perspectives and divides urgent transportation priorities that should overlap. It’s a great approach to help focus efforts for a project, but considering the role a UTC has in churning out future transportation professionals and the latest business venture, plus the inconsistent distribution of UTC research findings, this approach ultimately hinders innovation and leaves us entrenched in the broken status quo.

So how do we make a difference with UTCs?

The federal rules guiding UTCs can’t change at this point—the Notice of Funding Opportunity has already been released and the application process has started. However, as it does with all competitive grants, the USDOT has discretion in its review process. It will be crucial for the USDOT to nudge and encourage applicants to think holistically about their target goal by also considering other intersecting national priorities. This will make it easier for state DOTs to share research, and it will enable emerging transportation professionals across the country to gain more exposure to transportation issues and research development. The latter will be particularly important as the emerging professionals working for UTCs could one day join state DOTs and shape policy-making, operations, and implementation. The more they understand about today’s urgent transportation issues, the better.

The TIGER program is no more….in name

A rendering of the Multimodal Corridor Enhancement Project (MCORE) in Urbana and Champagne, Illinois is a complex street safety enhancement project that involved two city governments, the local transit agency, the University of Illinois, and the state. It wouldn’t have been possible without a TIGER grant.

Today, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) released the FY 2018 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the program formerly known as Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER). The NOFO declares that USDOT has rebranded TIGER as the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development or “BUILD” program. The criteria for funding under BUILD and TIGER are essentially the same—with one big caveat. Under BUILD, USDOT is putting a new emphasis on securing and committing new, non-federal revenue for projects requesting funding.

USDOT defines new revenue as “revenue that is not included in current and projected funding levels and results from specific actions taken to increase transportation infrastructure investment.” And any local or state revenue authorized before January 1, 2015 is not considered new revenue and cannot be applied as matching funding for BUILD projects.

Examples of “new revenue” according to USDOT are asset recycling, tolling, tax-increment financing, or sales or gas tax increases. Under this definition, bonds do not qualify as a new revenue source.

If this sounds familiar that is because it is! The criteria for funding consideration under BUILD is a lot like the requirement that the Trump administration included in their proposed infrastructure package earlier this year. As T4America’s analysis of the infrastructure package revealed, this criteria penalizes states and localities who have already raised more local revenue for transportation projects. Why are we penalizing states and cities who acted first?

Since 2012, 31 states have raised new transportation revenues and 12 of those states raised revenue before 2015—mostly by raising or otherwise modifying their gas taxes. Beyond states, many localities like Clayton County, GA and Alameda County, CA raised local funding before 2015 through ballot measures. Even if the taxes or other funding tools are producing new revenue today, if it happened before 2015, the Trump administration doesn’t care. Many of those cities (and the 12 states) would have to raise even more new funding to meet this criteria.

Asking localities to simply kick in more money would do little to guarantee better projects—it’ll just occupy more of the local funding that states or cities could invest elsewhere or spend on long-term maintenance. And the feds shouldn’t be pointing fingers about raising more money. Unlike these states and cities, the federal government hasn’t raised the gas tax (the largest source of federal transportation dollars) since 1993.

Rural communities get shortchanged by BUILD

This is especially problematic for rural communities who already have a difficult time raising new revenue. Many of the sources of new revenue suggested by U.S. DOT—asset recycling, tolling, tax-increment financing—are not feasible in rural areas because there is little to no private demand to finance infrastructure in rural areas because it’s not profitable.

The administration has talked a big game about the need to improve infrastructure in rural areas and this NOFO is on message, saying that’s a priority for this year’s BUILD program. But this new criteria actively makes it harder for rural areas to be competitive for funding because they will struggle to raise new revenue.

With this big change, the BUILD program has already built something: another obstacle to rural communities getting the transportation funding they need.

Background on TIGER

The FY 18 omnibus package enacted into law last month tripled the size of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program from $500 million to $1.5 billion. The omnibus rejected the president’s proposal to eliminate the TIGER program. This NOFO makes available the $1.5 billion from the omnibus and requires applications to be submitted to USDOT by July 19, 2018.

The TIGER program was one of the only ways that local communities could apply for and directly receive federal dollars for their most needed transportation projects. TIGER enabled the development of complete streets and walkable communities, expanded intermodal access to our nation’s ports, improved our public transit network, made our highway and railway systems more efficient, and helped to strengthen our passenger ferry network. TIGER routinely had requests for three to four times more in funding than was available—making it a very competitive program—and raised $3.6 in additional funding for every dollar appropriated through TIGER. In short, TIGER has been a widely successful and popular program.

T4America members recently got the inside scoop on this next round of TIGER/BUILD via an exclusive webinar with USDOT.

Not yet a member? T4America regularly offers members more in-depth summaries of USDOT actions like this NOFO. In the days ahead, we will be helping members to make their applications more competitive.

Learn more about T4America membership here.

USDOT announces funding available for the new FASTLANE freight and highway grant program

Last year’s five-year FAST Act transportation law included a new freight program for the first time (see this section under “A one-size-fits-all freight program“) and the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has announced that the first round of $800 million in competitive grants is open for business.

Last Friday, USDOT released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the new competitive grant program for freight and highway capacity projects, created in last year’s FAST Act.

The Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects program includes a dedicated competitive freight program totaling $4.5 billion over the life of the five-year FAST Act, with $800 million available in FY2016. The department has renamed the program and it’s a mouthful: The Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grants.

Last week’s FASTLANE funding notice outlines the FY2016 discretionary competition structure and criteria being used to measure applications. Full applications are due by 8:00 PM EDT on April 14, 2016 and should be submitted through www.Grants.gov.

Transportation for America has summarized the NOFO for our members. Download the members-only summary here (pdf).

While Congress’ FAST Act legislatively limits Secretary Foxx to using the majority of this program’s funding for highway-only capacity improvements for freight, there are still possibilities to think outside of the box. The grant program does indicate a determination to support projects that reconnect communities torn apart from interstate development, such as capping highways.

Beth Osborne, T4America’s Senior Policy Advisor, and Michael Rodriguez, AICP, Director of Research for Smart Growth America, will provide an informative session discussing both the FY2016 FASTLANE and TIGER grants program for T4America members on Thursday, March 4 at 4:00 pm EST. Register for this members-only webinar here.