INFRA Grants

The NOFO for the FY 2021 INFRA funding was initially published on January 19, 2021, and was subsequently withdrawn, and revised, re-released on February 17, 2021. -

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is seeking applicants for the FY 2021 round of the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) discretionary grant program to fund transportation projects of national and regional significance that result in good-paying jobs, improve safety, apply transformative technology, and explicitly address climate change and racial equity. The funding available for this year's grants totals approximately $889 million.

The Department recognizes the role that infrastructure investment plays in economic development and job creation, and the added urgency of this funding at time when the COVID-19 pandemic has put stress on state and local budgets.

For the first time, the USDOT seeks INFRA projects that address climate change and environmental justice. Projects will be evaluated on whether they were planned as part of a comprehensive strategy to address climate change, or whether they support strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions such as deploying zero-emission-vehicle infrastructure or encouraging modal shift and a reduction in vehicle-miles-traveled.

Racial equity will also be considered as a selection criterion, to the extent that project sponsors have completed equity-focused community outreach, and projects are designed to benefit underserved communities. The Department will also consider whether the project is located in a federally designated community development zone, including qualified Opportunity Zones, Empowerment Zones, Promise Zones, or Choice Neighborhoods.

USDOT seeks projects that apply innovative technology, delivery, or financing methods with proven outcomes to deliver projects in a cost effective manner. 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. Under statutory requirements, 10 percent of available funds are reserved for small projects, and the Department must award at least 25 percent of funding for rural projects. 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.

The INFRA NOFO also announces the creation of the "INFRA Extra" Program, which will identify competitive INFRA applicants who do not receive an INFRA award and authorize them to seek a Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998 (TIFIA) loan up to 49 percent of their project cost.

The Department is currently revising the FY 2021 INFRA Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Any FY 2021 INFRA NOFOs issued before January 21, 2021, including any previously published on https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/infragrants or at Grants.gov, are withdrawn, and will not be used. An updated FY 2021 INFRA NOFO will be published soon. -

The Department is currently revising the FY 2021 INFRA Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO). Any FY 2021 INFRA NOFOs issued before January 21, 2021, including any previously published on https://www.transportation.gov/buildamerica/infragrants or at Grants.gov, are withdrawn, and will not be used. An updated FY 2021 INFRA NOFO will be published soon.

The Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (INFRA) program provides Federal financial assistance to highway and freight projects of national or regional significance. This notice solicits applications for awards under the program's fiscal year (FY) 2020 funding, subject to the availability of appropriated funds.

The Department is focusing the competition on transportation infrastructure projects that support four key objectives, each of which is discussed in greater detail in the Notice of Funding Opportunity:

(1) Supporting economic vitality at the national and regional level;

(2) Leveraging Federal funding to attract non-Federal sources of infrastructure investment;

(3) Deploying innovative technology, encouraging innovative approaches to project delivery, and incentivizing the use of innovative financing; and

(4) Holding grant recipients accountable for their performance.