The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced that it is now soliciting applications for the Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies (FASTLANE) grant program. The FASTLANE program is a new program in the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act to fund critical freight and highway projects across the country. The FAST Act authorizes $800 million in funding for the FASTLANE program for fiscal year 2016, with 25 percent reserved for rural projects, and 10 percent for smaller projects.
The FASTLANE grant program provides funding for projects of national or regional significance. FASTLANE grants provide dedicated funding for projects that address major issues facing our nation’s highways and bridges. 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, 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.
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. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is available HERE.
