U.S. Department of Transportation - Office of the Under Secretary for Policy

Reducing inequities across our transportation systems and the communities they affect is an important goal for USDOT. This can include identifying communities or neighborhoods that are most impacted by climate change, pollution, and environmental hazards and addressing gaps in transportation infrastructure and public services. The page below provides tools to help potential grant applicants identify and verify a community’s disadvantaged status, quantify and analyze transportation-related disadvantage, and analyze how a potential project may reduce identified inequities. https://lnkd.in/gHTG43hb

USDOT’s Project Delivery Center of Excellence has released a new resource to help ensure consistency and quality in design and construction contracts. Recipients of federal aid for construction projects must create thorough construction contracts to keep projects on time, on task, and on budget. These legally binding contracts, or project agreements, outline the roles, responsibilities, terms, and conditions for a project’s successful delivery. The Project Delivery Center of Excellence worked in partnership with several national associations to identify templates and model language for transportation construction contracts. This new resource provides a central repository of those templates and model language that are available for purchase and from high-quality sources. Link to the templates in the comments section below.

Rural Road Safety Funding at USDOT: Example Projects from 2022 compiles a selection of recently awarded projects from certain U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) discretionary and non-discretionary grant programs that aim to address rural road safety. This compilation is meant to support prospective rural applicants in understanding how USDOT grants have previously been used to improve rural road safety, and to showcase the underlying importance of safety across USDOT grant programs. Access the report in the comments section below.

USDOT is hosting a two-part webinar series to help potential DOT grant applicants effectively tell their community’s story in the planning, project development, and/or grant application process. Part 1 of the webinar series on July 22 will focus on how to identify and describe a project and its goals, identify users of the infrastructure or system, and determine the project’s impact area. Participants will receive step-by-step information and recommendations, and presenters will use examples to illustrate each of the concepts. The webinar will conclude with a brief Q&A session. Register to attend, and learn about Part 2 of this series, using the link in the comments section below.

Exciting news! Please spread the word that the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is out and $600 million is available! Read it here: https://lnkd.in/e8XGyAzr Here's the news release: https://lnkd.in/ekfzCnw7 Here's a Bureau Bulletin Brief: https://lnkd.in/eXqscXHe New this year - technical assistance through the Bureau's Reconnecting Communities Institute - learn more here: https://lnkd.in/eWxY97kf Applications due September 30th. Please share! AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials) Association Metropolitan Planning Organizations (AMPO) National Governors Association National League of Cities National Conference of State Legislatures United States Conference of Mayors COMTO National Office #reconnectingcommunities #federalgrants #NOFO

Through the Modernizing NEPA Challenge, the U.S. Department of Transportation aims to make documents associated with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) more accessible and transparent to reviewing agencies and the public, while also saving time and improving document quality. You could win $50,000 in cash for your ideas on making documents more accessible for those with visual impairments and easier to understand for everyone. Join us for a brief live Q&A session to meet the Challenge team, bring your questions, and learn more. Link to register in comments section below.

The deadline for the SMART Stage 1 Grants is coming up! Applications are due July 12th . This will be the last year for Stage 1 Grants, so all interested, eligible entities are encouraged to apply. The SMART Program Website has complete ‘how to apply’ information, frequently asked questions, illustrative use cases, and more.https://tinyurl.com/cty2ztfr

THRIVING COMMUNITIES NETWORK CONVENING! WHO: Thriving Communities Partners from Maine, New Hampshire, and Vermont WHAT: A convening to network with Thriving Communities Technical Assistance Providers and Federal Agencies who are part of the Federal Interagency Thriving Communities Network WHERE: @St. Anselm College Institute of Politics, 100 Saint Anselm Dr Manchester, NH 03102; Phone: (802) 557-6709 WHEN: July 29th from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. WHY: For decades, communities have requested resources and tools to successfully compete for federal funding. The Thriving Communities Network brings together federal agencies to coordinate place-based technical assistance (TA) and capacity-building resources for urban, rural, and Tribal communities experiencing a history of economic distress and systemic disinvestment. These federal resources include grant and financial management support, pre-development assistance, community engagement, planning, and project delivery support. Join federal agency staff, technical assistance providers, philanthropy, and state and local community leaders at this event in Manchester, NH for information about federal funding and technical assistance programs available to communities facing environmental and economic challenges, as well as time for local communities to discuss their priority projects with TA providers and their peers, to develop partnerships, learn from each other, and identify potential support. U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) Maine Department of Transportation Vermont Agency of Transportation HOW: Registration Link: https://lnkd.in/e_Rsd23a #thrivingcommunities #technicalassistance #federalgrants  

Are you ready to shape the future of decision-making for transportation projects? The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) ensures federal projects consider environmental impacts. As projects grow more complex, NEPA documents have become dense and difficult to navigate. The U.S. Department of Transportation’s $750K “Modernizing NEPA Challenge” is a chance to create more engaging documents, and to make it easier to learn about the transportation projects impacting communities. Watch the video, then learn more at: https://lnkd.in/eNdfM7VQ #PrizeChallenge #PrizeCompetition

INVESTING IN AMERICA: From improving road safety to revitalizing communities and creating economic opportunity, all 50 states, four territories, and the District of Columbia will receive RAISE grants this year from President Biden’s infrastructure law.  RAISE is a keystone program of President Biden’s Investing in America agenda, rebuilding and repairing critical infrastructure using American-made materials and spurring historic levels of private sector investment in regions around the country. Investing in key transportation infrastructure initiatives through programs like RAISE is growing the economy from the middle out and bottom up, lowering costs for families, and creating good-paying, union jobs for American workers in their home communities. Learn more in the comments section below.