Freight Transportation Stakeholders:
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced the second round of the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant program through a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) in the Federal
Register on December 21, 2018. The INFRA program will make approximately $855-902.5 million available to projects that are in line with the Administration’s principles to help rebuild America’s crumbling infrastructure – a priority for this Administration.
In addition to providing direct federal funding, the INFRA program aims to increase the total investment by state, local, and private partners.
INFRA advances a grant program established in the FAST Act of 2015 and utilizes updated criteria to evaluate projects to align them with national and regional economic vitality goals and to leverage additional non-federal
funding. The program will increase the impact of projects by leveraging federal grant funding and incentivizing project sponsors to pursue innovative strategies, including public-private partnerships.
Additionally, the new program promotes the incorporation of innovative technology that will improve our transportation system. INFRA will also hold recipients accountable for their performance in project delivery
and operations.
“This Administration is committed to revitalizing, repairing and rebuilding America’s aging infrastructure,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. “By ensuring the right incentives, projects selected
under this program will be better able to make significant, long-term improvements to America’s transportation infrastructure.”
The Department will make awards under the INFRA program to both large and small projects. For a large project, the INFRA grant must be at least $25 million. For a small project, the grant must be at least $5 million.
For each fiscal year of INFRA funds, 10 percent of available funds are reserved for small projects.
The INFRA grant program preserves the statutory requirement in the FAST Act to award at least 25 percent of funding for rural projects. The Administration understands that rural needs may well exceed this limit,
and the Department will consider rural projects to the greatest extent possible. For rural communities in need of funding for highway and multimodal freight projects with national or regional economic significance, INFRA is an opportunity to apply directly
for financial assistance from the federal government.
INFRA grants may be used to fund a variety of components of an infrastructure project, however, the Department is specifically focused on projects in which the local sponsor is significantly invested and is positioned
to proceed rapidly to construction. Eligible INFRA project costs may include: 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.
In FY18, INFRA grants in the amount of nearly $1.5 billion were awarded to 26 projects.
The Application Deadline is March 4, 2019. For more information, visit:
www.transportation.gov/INFRA.
The following schedule outlines the remaining webinars in the series, including a repeat of the 1/24 webinar on 2/5 . Past webinars may be available for download from the OST webpage at:
https://www.transportation.gov/policy-initiatives/buildamerica/infra-webinar-series
Please share the following schedule with interested applicants.
FY 2019 Webinar Series
The Department is hosting a series of technical assistance webinars for potential INFRA applicants at the dates and times below. Registration at the links below is required in order to participate. Each webinar
will also be recorded and made available on this site in the event after the fact.
Webinar #1: How to Compete for INFRA 2019 Grants
Date and Time: Thursday, January 24 (Afternoon) 1pm-3pm
This is an explanatory webinar which will cover the program’s eligibility requirements and selection criteria for potential applicants, with an opportunity for participants to ask questions throughout.
Registration:
https://connectdot.connectsolutions.com/emim2vxicve2/event/event_info.html
Webinar #2: How to Compete for INFRA 2019 Grants (Rural and Tribal Applicants)
Date and Time: Monday, January 28 (Afternoon) 2pm-4pm
This is an explanatory webinar which will cover the program’s eligibility requirements and selection criteria—with an emphasis on potential rural or tribal applicants—and will include an opportunity for participants
to ask questions throughout.
Registration:
https://connectdot.connectsolutions.com/eu96ww76lvvq/event/event_info.html
Webinar #3: Preparing a Benefit-Cost Analysis for an INFRA Grant Application
Date and Time: Wednesday, January 30 (Afternoon) 3pm-5pm
This webinar will address how to prepare a Benefit-Cost-Analysis for submission with your INFRA application, including a discussion of key concepts and DOT’s preferred methodology, and will an include an opportunity
for participants to ask questions throughout.
Registration:
https://connectdot.connectsolutions.com/e6j8lmvzvj29/event/event_info.html
Webinar #4: How to Compete for INFRA 2019 Grants (Repeat Session)
Date and Time: Tuesday, February 5 (Afternoon) 2pm-4pm
Intended for applicants who missed Webinar #1, or who have identified additional questions, this is a repeat explanatory webinar which will cover the program’s eligibility requirements and selection criteria for potential
applicants, with an opportunity for participants to ask questions throughout.
Registration:
https://connectdot.connectsolutions.com/ei5sylbcc84h/event/event_info.html