The US Office of the Secretary of Transportation (OST) has announced the FY 2020 round of the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) grant program.

The Notice of Funding Opportunity has been posted on the Build America Bureau website. Additional information on how to apply, frequently asked questions and the Department’s Benefit Cost Analysis Guidance for Discretionary Grant programs can be found at transportation.gov/INFRA.

The deadline for applications is February 25, 2020, at 11:59 p.m. EST.

OST has provided the following information applicants may find useful:

• The INFRA program provides federal financial assistance to highway and freight projects of national or regional significance.  The Department is soliciting applications for awards under the program’s fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding.
• The department estimates that $906 million will be available for award.
• The application deadline is February 25, 2020.  The department expects to make selections in June 2020.
• The FY 2020 INFRA competition focuses on the same four themes advanced in earlier INFRA rounds:
  • Supporting economic vitality at the national and regional level;
  • Leveraging federal funding to attract non-federal sources of infrastructure investment;
  • Deploying innovative technology, encouraging innovative approaches to project delivery, and incentivizing the use of innovative financing;
  • Holding grant recipients accountable for their performance.
• New this year: The USDOT added, as a factor in the economic vitality evaluation, whether the project primarily serves freight and goods movement.
• Also New: Consistent with the ROUTES Initiative, USDOT will consider how projects address transportation challenges in rural areas.
• Across its history, this program has awarded $3.2 billion in grants to support of $16.2 billion in transportation infrastructure investment.

Additional information about the FY 2020 INFRA grant program can be found at https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/infragrants.

John LaMacchia is the Assistant Director of State and Federal Affairs for the League handling transportation, infrastructure, energy and environment issues. He can be reached at [email protected] or 517-908-0303.