USDOT accepting applications for new $800M FASTLANE grants

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) is soliciting applications for a new grant program authorized by the Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act.

The FAST Act authorizes $800 million for the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program in fiscal year 2016 to fund critical freight and highway projects across the country. Rural projects will receive 25 percent of the funds and smaller projects, will receive 10 percent of the available funds.

FASTLANE grants, authorized by the FAST Act’s Nationally Significant Freight and Highway Projects (NSFHP) program, will fund small and large projects, based on project size, that meet statutory requirements. Large projects (equal to the lesser of $100 million or a certain specified statutory percentage of the project state’s FY 2015 apportionment) are eligible for a minimum award of $25 million. Small projects, which consist of projects below the minimum large project size threshold, are eligible for a minimum award of $5 million.

“Our nation needs a strong multimodal freight system to both compete in the global economy and meet the needs of consumers and industry,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “We now have an opportunity to fund high-impact projects that address key challenges affecting the movement of people and freight.”

The FASTLANE grant program provides funding for projects of national or regional significance. USDOT said that for the first time in the U.S. Department of Transportation’s 50-year history, the program establishes broad, multiyear eligibilities for freight infrastructure, including intermodal projects.

FASTLANE grants will address many of the challenges outlined in the USDOT report Beyond Traffic, including increased congestion on the nation’s highways and the need for a strong multimodal transportation system to support the expected growth in freight movement both by ton and value. It is also in line with the Department’s draft National Freight Strategic Plan released in October 2015, which looks at challenges and identifies strategies to address impediments to the efficient flow of goods throughout the nation.

The NSFHP program is authorized at $4.5 billion through 2020. Applications for FY 2016 are due on April 14, 2016. For more information, including a schedule of webinars on the program, please visit www.transportation.gov/FASTLANEgrants.