Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (Rural)
General Grant Program Information
The Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program (Rural) program was created in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) to fund projects to improve and expand the surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas to increase connectivity, improve the safety and reliability of the movement of people and freight, generate regional economic growth, and improve quality of life. It is a highly competitive program.
Eligible uses include highway, bridge, tunnel, or highway freight projects eligible under the National Highway Performance Program, Surface Transportation Block Grant Program, or the Tribal Transportation Program; highway safety improvement projects; projects on a publicly owned highway or bridge that improve access to an agricultural, commercial, energy, or intermodal facility; and integrated mobility management systems, transportation demand management systems, or on-demand mobility services.
USDOT is combining three major discretionary grant programs—for the Mega, INFRA, and Rural Surface Transportation Grant (Rural) programs—and two fiscal years of funding into one Multimodal Projects Discretionary Grant (MPDG) opportunity to reduce the burden for state and local applicants and increase the pipeline of “shovel-worthy” projects that are now possible because of BIL.
A benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is required for these grant programs. For more information about BCAs, see What Is a BCA? and USDOT's Benefit-Cost Analysis Guidance for Discretionary Grants.
Eligibility Information
Eligible Applicants
Eligible applicants for Rural grants include the following:
- A State (for Rural, States are defined to include the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico)
- A regional transportation planning organization
- A unit of local government
- A tribal government or a consortium of tribal governments
- A multijurisdictional group of entities above
Eligible Uses
Eligible project types for Rural grants include the following:
- A highway, bridge, or tunnel project eligible under National Highway Performance Program
- A highway, bridge, or tunnel project eligible under Surface Transportation Block Grant
- A highway, bridge, or tunnel project eligible under Tribal Transportation Program
- A highway freight project eligible under National Highway Freight Program
- A highway safety improvement project, including a project to improve a high-risk rural road as defined by the Highway Safety Improvement Program
- A project on a publicly owned highway or bridge that provides or increases access to an agricultural, commercial, energy, or intermodal facility that supports the economy of a rural area
- A project to develop, establish, or maintain an integrated mobility management system, a transportation demand management system, or on-demand mobility services
Please note that any projects on local roads or rural minor collectors must qualify as “providing or increasing access to an agricultural, commercial, energy, or intermodal facility that supports the economy of a rural area.”
Funding Information
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides approximately $1.7 billion for Rural over 5 years, of which approximately $780 million will be made available through this NOFO.
At least 90 percent of rural funding must be awarded in amounts of $25 million or more. If you are seeking less than $25 million, you are competing for only about $78 million nationwide this round.
See the Notice of Funding Opportunity and the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program webpage for additional funding information.
Contact Information
Disclaimer:
The Dashboard provides users with a high-level overview of relevant Federal discretionary grant programs. The information in the Dashboard is maintained as a secondary resource and may not be updated with the most recent changes to each program's primary guidance materials. Accordingly, please refer to the Federal grant-making agency for the most comprehensive and up-to-date information on a grant opportunity in the Dashboard.
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