Transportation, Vermont Agency Of

The Vermont Agency of Transportation, a U.S. state government entity headquartered in Barre, Vermont, is the prime recipient of federal grant funding across highway, transit, aviation, and safety programs statewide. VTrans does not hold federal contracts or sit on contract vehicles; it operates exclusively as a federal grant recipient, distributing formula and project grant allocations to municipalities, regional planning commissions, transit agencies, and airport authorities throughout Vermont.

VTrans administers the largest concentration of federal transportation grants through the Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA), which accounts for 13,116 of its 13,770 total awards. The agency receives flexible formula funding under the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (CFDA 20.287), which it uses for pavement preservation, bridge rehabilitation, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, and statewide asset management. Representative recent work includes a $1.32 million award for statewide data management and transportation asset analysis, $3.683 million for statewide crack sealing operations, a $9.346 million FFY 2026 highway development work program, and a $9.974 million ATTAIN grant for advanced technology deployment and innovation in highway infrastructure. Bridge infrastructure dominates VTrans' active portfolio: the agency manages dozens of bridge maintenance, rehabilitation, and replacement projects across Interstate 89, Interstate 91, and state routes, with recent awards including a $1.29 million emergency needs project for culvert rehabilitation on I-89 in South Burlington and a $475 thousand award for I-91 bridge replacement engineering in Rockingham.

VTrans also administers substantial federal transit funding through the Federal Transit Administration, holding 160 awards under the Formula Grants for Rural Areas and Tribal Transit Program (CFDA 20.509). A $23.233 million award obligated in September 2025 supports rural transit operations, maintenance, and vehicle acquisition across eight sub-recipient agencies including Green Mountain Transit, Marble Valley Regional Transit District, Advance Transit, and Rural Community Transportation. The agency manages a specialized program delivering expanded transit access for elderly residents aged 60 and older and individuals with disabilities. The Federal Transit Administration also awarded VTrans $21.401 million under the Buses and Bus Facilities Formula Program (CFDA 20.526) in September 2025 to fund battery-electric bus procurement (nine buses initially, with Amendment 1 substituting three for diesel-hybrid vehicles), workforce development for maintenance and driver personnel, and three-phase power and electric vehicle supply equipment upgrades at Green Mountain Transit and Marble Valley facilities in Burlington and Rutland.

Aviation infrastructure represents a secondary but substantial portfolio. The Federal Aviation Administration New England Region issued 109 awards to VTrans for airport improvement and infrastructure grants (CFDA 20.116 and 20.117) at nonprimary airports serving Rutland, Middlebury, Montpelier, and Swanton. Recent work includes a $4.258 million apron reconstruction project at Rutland Airport (Phase 2 final design and construction), a $426,900 pavement management plan update for Montpelier airports, a $625,987 snow removal equipment acquisition for Middlebury, and a $175,100 airfield markings and runway reseal project at Rutland.

Highway safety, infrastructure resilience, and emissions reduction constitute emerging focus areas. VTrans received multiple awards from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) totaling $2.923 million under the Section 402 State and Community Highway Safety Grant (CFDA 20.600) and additional specialized safety grants under CFDA 20.616 for occupant protection, impaired driving countermeasures, motorcyclist safety, distracted driving awareness, and traffic records system improvements—all obligated October 1, 2025, with performance through September 30, 2029. The Federal Highway Administration issued 23 awards totaling approximately $12.7 million for National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) deployment at sites including Montpelier, Danby, Derby, Brandon, Barton, Winooski, Springfield, Waterbury, Williston, Swanton, Sharon, Vergennes, and Lunenburg, all scheduled for completion September 9–10, 2027. VTrans also received $452,500 and $300,000 in Carbon Reduction Program cooperative agreements (CFDA 20.265) for statewide three-phase power upgrades and EVSE installation at Agency transportation district facilities.

VTrans' customer concentration is extreme and by design: 98 percent of awards derive from the Department of Transportation family, with the FHWA alone representing 95 percent of the award count. The agency operates under two Basic Ordering Agreements (BOAs) with the General Services Administration for facility leasing—GS01B04257 (82 task orders, $2.2 million potential value) and GS01B04635 (25 task orders, $3.3 million potential value)—which reflect administrative overhead rather than core mission work. VTrans is not a federal contractor; it is the state transportation authority charged with administering federal formula allocations and distributing sub-awards to local and regional recipients. Recent activity shows 760 awards in 2024 and 772 in 2025, with 761 awards facing ultimate completion within the next twenty-four months, creating recompete obligations as funding cycles renew. The agency's role is grant administration and passthrough distribution, not service delivery or infrastructure operation as a vendor. Federal grant programs administered include Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG), National Highway Freight Program, Highway Safety Improvement Program (HSIP), Bridge Formula Program, Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ), Metropolitan Planning Program, Emergency Relief (ER), State Planning and Research (SPR), Pollinator-Friendly Practices grants, Rural Transit Formula Grants, Buses and Bus Facilities Formula, Airport Improvement Program, Airport Infrastructure Grants, and Multiple NHTSA highway safety programs (Section 402 and Sections 405(b–h)).