DOT is planning to award $850 million worth of grants to states for projects that address critical freight issues facing our nation’s highways and bridges. The grants will be awarded on a competitive basis to projects that will be selected from applications from state and local governments.
In the first call for FASTLANE grants, USDOT received 212 applications, which was equivalent to nearly $9.8 billion for grants – with states and localities requesting over 13 times more funding than was available through FASTLANE. Of the 212 applications received, 136 represented projects in urban areas, while the remaining 76 supported rural projects. The need to support projects improving the Nation’s freight system is also highlighted in the Department’s report, Beyond Traffic 2045: Trends and Choices, where freight volume is expected to grow to 29 billion tons—an increase by 45 percent by the year 2040.
In this map (below), you can view where FASTLANE funded projects are currently occurring. Green drop pins are rural and blue are urban site locations.
Some highlights from the Notice of Funding Opportunity
- Applications are due December 15, 2016 by 8:00 p.m. EST
- Registration on Grants.gov must be completed before submitting the final application and takes 2-4 weeks to complete.
- Find out here if you are eligible for FASTLANE funds here.
- $850 million will be awarded in total by DOT.
- The minimum award for small projects is $5 million and for large projects is $25 million.
- If you have any questions or for more information, contact [email protected].
- DOT is offering a series of webinars that delve into various aspects of the FASTLANE application process. More info here.
- Read more about FASTLANE NOFO here.
Application Content Requirements
- SF-424 (Application for Federal Assistance)
- SF-424C (Budget Information for Construction Programs)
- Cover Page (Including this chart)
- Project Narrative
Applicants Must Have
- A Data University Numbering System (DUNS) number
- Register with the System Award for Management (SAM) at www.sam.gov
- Create a Grants.gov username and password
- Obtain an applicant organization E-business Point of Contact (POC)
How ESI can help
With a wealth of experience in transportation, planning and urban economics, ESI’s experts have past experience in providing assistance for clients nationwide who are seeking various forms of funding (such as TIGER, RACP and EB5). ESI’s experts work with public agencies to help them compile the full application package and show to what extent their project will have positive economic, transportation, social and environmental impacts and achieve the desired outcomes of the these programs.
ESI can help with your benefit-cost analysis and FASTLANE application in the following ways:
- Preparation of full benefit-cost analyses
- NOFO compliance review
- Third-party review and analysis of applications prior to submission
- Full preparation of your application package
Contact Peter Angelides at [email protected] for more info.