U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) issued its first notice of funding opportunity (NOFO) for the Bridge Investment Program (BIP) on June 10, 2022. BIP funding is separate from, and supplemental to, the $5.3 billion in bridge formula funding distributed to States earlier this year.
The USDOT NOFO seeks applications for three categories, shown below. Each category has an individual application deadline, and project sponsors may apply for funding under one, two, or all three categories. For non-planning projects, projects must be reasonably expected to begin construction within 18 months after the obligation of BIP funds and preliminary engineering is complete for the project.
Eligible applicants for all three BIP categories include: a State or a group of States; a metropolitan planning organization that serves an urbanized area with a population over 200,000; a unit of local government or a group of local governments; a political subdivision of a State or local government; a special purpose district or a public authority with a transportation function; a federal land management agency; a tribal government or a consortium of tribal governments; and a multistate or multijurisdictional group of entities.
Full announcement and application requirements can be found on the NOFO BIP webpage.
Planning Projects
Application deadline: July 25, 2022.
• Funding: $20 million is available for planning, feasibility analysis, and revenue forecasting projects that would subsequently be eligible to apply for BIP funding under the construction project categories.
• Award size: no minimum or maximum.
Bridge Projects (projects with eligible costs less than $100 million)
Application deadline: September 8, 2022.
• Funding: bridge projects may receive phased BIP awards to complete final design and any right-of-way acquisition within 12 months and provide BIP funds for construction, which must begin within 18 months of obligation of the FY 2022 BIP funds for completion of final design and right-of-way acquisition.
• Eligibility: projects to replace, rehabilitate, preserve, or protect one or more bridges on the National Bridge Inventory as well as bridge bundling and culvert projects.
• Award size: minimum of $2.5 million and maximum of 80 percent of the total eligible project cost.
Large Bridge Projects (projects with eligible costs greater than $100 million)
Application deadline: August 9, 2022.
• Funding: at least $300 million must go toward large bridge projects. Large bridge projects may be awarded multiyear grant agreements. USDOT notes it will seek to award BIP funds first for large bridge construction projects for bridges in poor condition or in fair condition and at risk of falling into poor condition within the next three years and that will benefit most from a multiyear grant award.
• Eligibility: projects to replace, rehabilitate, preserve, or protect one or more bridges on the National Bridge Inventory as well as bridge bundling and culvert projects.
• Award size: minimum of $50 million and maximum of 50 percent of the total eligible project cost.
Contact Caltrans Division of Local Assistance, Office of Federal Programs – Robert Peterson at Robert.Peterson@dot.ca.gov.