Funding to Address Legacy Highways

Across the country, many highways that were built decades ago need to be transformed to meet modern safety standards, ensure access for everyone using them, and serve as a centerpiece of community economic revitalization. These legacy highways can be State-owned arterial roads that serve primarily as local roadways and may no longer serve all the needs of the local communities in which they are located. Legacy highways can be found in all types of communities often as rural main streets, suburban or exurban residential and commercial corridors, or city streets.

Many Federal programs under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law can support projects to modernize these highways through Complete Streets strategies that meet both the current standards and the needs of the communities that surround them. The modernization of these roads can improve safety for all people who use the roadways, including those who are outside of a vehicle such as pedestrians and bicyclists. Upgrades can also spur development and housing investment, and provide better access for everyone using the road.

On July 31, 2024, USDOT hosted a webinar featuring USDOT Deputy Secretary Polly Trottenberg and Representative Earl Blumenauer and national and local experts who explored case studies, resources, and Federal funding opportunities that can support the modernization of Legacy Highways as a way to improve safety, spur development and affordable housing investment, and provide better access for everyone using the road. View the webinar recording here (Passcode: ?FMqp7@0) and a summary of resources here.

Funding Supportive of Complete Streets Improvements to Legacy Highways

In July 2024, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) issued a Memorandum, Improvements to Legacy Date Highways through Complete Streets Strategies – Eligibility Questions and Answers, that provides information on eligibilities available to Federal-aid Highway Program funding recipients that could be used to support the design and construction of Complete Streets-type improvements to legacy highways. Formula programs and discretionary grant programs that can be used to support implementation of Complete Streets strategies are also listed below. Please note that precise eligibilities are determined at the program level -- consult the program's Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for details on eligible activities. 

Apportioned (Formula) Programs

• Bridge Formula Program: Funding for highway bridge replacement, rehabilitation, preservation, protection, or construction projects on public roads.
• Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation Program: Funding for highway bridge replacement and rehabilitation projects on public roads.
• Carbon Reduction Program: Funding for a wide range of projects that support the reduction of transportation emissions and projects that replace street lighting and traffic control devices with energy-efficient alternatives.
• Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality (CMAQ) Improvement Program: Flexible funding source for State and local governments for transportation projects and programs to help meet the requirements of the Clean Air Act.  Funding is available to improve air quality for areas that do not meet the National Ambient Air Quality Standards for ozone, carbon monoxide, or particulate matter (nonattainment areas) and for former nonattainment areas that are now in compliance (maintenance areas). This may include provision of additional infrastructure for low- or no-emission modes, such as transit, bicycling, or walking. While the complete project may not be eligible under the CMAQ program, CMAQ funds can be used on the portion of the project that demonstrates air quality benefits.
• Highway Safety Improvement Program: Funding for projects defined as "highway safety improvement project[s]" in 23 U.S.C. 148(a)(4).
• National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure Formula Program: Funding for States to strategically deploy electric vehicle (EV) charging infrastructure and to establish an interconnected network to facilitate data collection, access, and reliability.
• National Highway Freight Program (NHFP): Funding for NHFP-eligible improvements, such as the adding or widening of shoulders; railway and highway grade separation; physical separation of passenger vehicles from commercial motor freight; efforts to reduce the environmental impacts of freight movement; and environmental and community mitigation for freight movement, can support the Complete Streets goal of adequate accommodation for all users, including freight vehicles.
• National Highway Performance Program: Funding to support the condition and performance of the National Highway System (NHS).
• Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Formula Program: Funding to help make surface transportation more resilient to natural hazards, including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters, through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk coastal infrastructure. 
• Railway-Highway Crossings Program: Funding for safety improvements to eliminate hazards at public railway-highway crossings.
• Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG): Funding generally provided for eligible activities for a project located on a Federal-aid highway, which is defined as a public highway eligible for assistance under 23 U.S.C., other than a highway functionally classified as a local road or rural minor collector. STBG funding is also available for bridges, including bridges not located on Federal-aid highways (off-system bridges). Limited STBG funding is also available for roads functionally classified as rural minor collectors or local roads in areas of less than 50,000 population.
• Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside Program: Funding for a variety of generally smaller-scale transportation projects such as pedestrian and bicycle facilities; construction of turnouts, overlooks, and viewing areas; community improvements such as historic preservation and vegetation management; environmental mitigation related to stormwater and habitat connectivity; recreational trails; SRTS projects; and vulnerable road user safety assessments. 

Discretionary (Competitive) Grant Programs

• Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program: Grants for eligible applicants to develop plans for active transportation networks and active transportation spines. 
• Advanced Transportation Technologies and Innovation Program: Competitive grants to deploy, install, and operate advanced transportation technologies to improve safety, mobility, efficiency, system performance, intermodal connectivity, and infrastructure return on investment.
• Bridge Investment Program: Grants to improve bridge condition and the safety, efficiency, and reliability of the movement of people and freight over bridges.
• Charging and Fueling Infrastructure Discretionary Grant Program: Funding to strategically deploy publicly accessible electric vehicle charging infrastructure, hydrogen fueling infrastructure, propane fueling infrastructure, and natural gas fueling infrastructure along designated alternative fuel corridors or in certain other locations within communities that will be accessible to all drivers of electric vehicles, hydrogen vehicles, propane vehicles, and natural gas vehicles.
• Congestion Relief Program: Grants to eligible entities to advance innovative, integrated, and multimodal solutions to congestion relief in the most congested metropolitan areas of the United States.
• Rebuilding America (INFRA) Grants Program: Grants must meet the requirements in 23 U.S.C. 117 and may be used for development phase activities, including planning, feasibility analysis, revenue forecasting, environmental review, preliminary engineering and design work, and other preconstruction activities; and construction, reconstruction, rehabilitation, acquisition of real property, environmental mitigation, construction contingencies, acquisition of equipment, and operational improvements directly related to improving system performance. 
• Mega Grant Program: Provides funding for specific types of facilities and projects including (49 U.S.C. 6701(d)(1)): a highway or bridge project on the National Multimodal Freight Network; a highway or bridge project on the NHFN; a highway or bridge project on the NHS; a freight intermodal (including public ports) or freight rail project that provides public benefit; a highway-railway grade separation or elimination project; an intercity passenger rail project; a public transportation project that is (1) eligible for assistance under chapter 53 of title 49 U.S.C. and (2) a part of any of the project types described above; and a grouping, combination, or program of interrelated, connected, or dependent projects of any of the other eligible projects described above.
• National Culvert Removal, Replacement, and Restoration Grant Program: Funding for projects that would meaningfully improve or restore passage for anadromous fish. Anadromous fish species are born in freshwater such as streams and rivers, spend most of their lives in the marine environment, and migrate back to freshwater to spawn.
• Pollinator-Friendly Practices on Roadsides and Highway Rights-of-Way Program: Grants to eligible entities to carry out activities to benefit pollinators on roadsides and highway rights-of-way, including the planting and seeding of native, locally appropriate grasses and wildflowers, including milkweed.
• Promoting Resilient Operations for Transformative, Efficient, and Cost-saving Transportation (PROTECT) Discretionary Grant Program: Funds to help make surface transportation more resilient to natural hazards, including climate change, sea level rise, flooding, extreme weather events, and other natural disasters through support of planning activities, resilience improvements, community resilience and evacuation routes, and at-risk coastal infrastructure.
• Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Discretionary Grants: Provides for capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure with the goal of funding eligible projects that will have a significant local or regional impact and improve transportation infrastructure.
• Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program: Grants to restore community connectivity by removing, retrofitting, or mitigating highways or other transportation facilities that create barriers to community connectivity, including barriers to mobility, access, or economic development.
• Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program: Grants to eligible entities to improve and expand the surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas.
• Safe Streets and Roads for All Discretionary Grant Program: Supports regional, local, and Tribal initiatives to prevent death and serious injury on roads and streets, commonly referred to as "Vision Zero" or "Toward Zero Deaths" initiatives.
• Wildlife Crossings Pilot Program: Funding to achieve the goal of reducing Wildlife Vehicle Collisions while improving habitat connectivity for terrestrial and aquatic species.