The U.S. Department of Transportation is announcing the availability of $45.98 million in grant funding to expand public-private partnerships in government projects and develop smarter, more efficient ways to deliver transportation projects.
The funding, announced through a Notice of Funding Opportunity last week, comes from the Innovative Finance and Asset Concession Grant Program, a DOT grant and loan program designed to spur innovations in transportation. The program also supports the Build America Bureau, which was created under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act to assist public entities in developing smarter, more efficient ways to deliver transportation infrastructure projects.
Eligible applicants include state governments, county governments, city or township governments, special district governments, federally recognized tribal governments or public agencies/authorities chartered by these entities that manage transportation assets.
The grants are intended to identify and leverage underused infrastructure assets, such as idle land or transit facilities, allow government entities to secure private sector financing solutions and expertise to expedite projects, enable asset concessions and public-private partnerships for greater value.
Grants up to $2 million are available per recipient. Up to $1 million, the grant is 100% federally funded (no local match required). Any awarded grant above $1 million will require a 50% local match.
Applicants may only submit one application for one of two paths:
Technical Assistance Grants are programmatic, capacity-building work like asset inventory, planning, risk and value-for-money analysis, or contract negotiation tools. These require bundling at least two assets.
Expert Services Grants are designed for project-level activities like bringing in external consultants, financial modeling, environmental or legal planning, or developing a specific asset concession. These focus on one or more specific assets.
The online Grants.gov application window is open through Oct. 1. Registration for an informational webinar opens today, with the webinar scheduled for Aug. 27.
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