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    1. Management

    USDOT’s BUILD grant process is open for $1 billion in funding

    Feb. 21, 2020
    USDOT intends to award half of this round’s available funding to projects that benefit rural areas.
    Usdot Hq

    The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has made available $1 billion in Fiscal Year 2020 discretionary grant funding through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) program. The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) was published in the Federal Register on Feb. 19.  

    Funding provided through the BUILD grant program can support roads, bridges, transit, rail ports or intermodal transportation. Projects will be evaluated based on merit criteria that include safety, economic competitiveness, quality of life, environmental sustainability, state of good repair, innovation and partnership.

    “BUILD grants will upgrade infrastructure across America, making our transportation systems safer and more efficient,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

    Individual BUILD awards for this round of funding will not exceed $25 million; no more than $100 million will be awarded to a single state; and USDOT intends to award half of the available funds to projects that address the infrastructure needs of rural areas. While the funding caps are stipulated by appropriations legislation, the commitment to fund rural projects is in support of the USDOT’s ROUTES initiative that was launched in October 2019.

    In FY18, transit projects were awarded $195 million in BUILD grants and in FY19, transit was awarded $154 million in BUILD grants.

    To provide technical assistance to prospective applicants, USDOT is hosting a series of webinars during the FY20 BUILD grant application process. A webinar on how to compete for BUILD Transportation Grants for all applicants will be held on Feb. 25, 2020. Further details will be made available at https://www.transportation.gov/BUILDgrants. The deadline to submit an application is May 18, 2020.

    About the Author

    Mischa Wanek-Libman | Editor in Chief

    Mischa Wanek-Libman serves as editor in chief of Mass Transit magazine. She is responsible for developing and maintaining the magazine’s editorial direction and is based in the western suburbs of Chicago.

    Wanek-Libman has spent more than 20 years covering transportation issues including construction projects and engineering challenges for various commuter railroads and transit agencies. She has been recognized for editorial excellence through her individual work, as well as for collaborative content. 

    She is an active member of the American Public Transportation Association's Marketing and Communications Committee and serves as a Board Observer on the National Railroad Construction and Maintenance Association (NRC) Board of Directors.  

    She is a graduate of Drake University, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism and Mass Communication with a major in magazine journalism and a minor in business management.

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