When it comes to highways, bridges and electric vehicles, the U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is providing funding opportunities unlike anything that’s been seen in the history of our country.

But with multiple transportation agencies across the U.S. acting fast and furious to secure funding for their own projects, the competition could be as challenging as ever, even with unprecedented funds available. While 72 percent of all highway funding in the BIL is directed to formula funding that does not require state departments of transportation to compete, the remaining 28 percent is dedicated to discretionary competitive grant programs.

Demonstrating a project’s multi-faceted benefits to a community, to the economy, safety and equity could lead to significant funding. Naturally, failing to make an airtight case for a project’s merit and positive impact on its community could leave some projects on the sideline.

“There's been a significant 21 percent increase in funding levels for transportation programs in 2022, thanks to the new law,” said Benjamin Perez, national policy director for WSP. “Distributions will be $9.1billion – or 21 percent – above 2021, providing a total of $52.5 billion in Fiscal Year 2022.”

Five Federal Aid Highway formula programs have received funding increases, and some of those increases are significant, including

• National Highway Performance Program, $28.44 billion (17 percent increase)
• Surface Transportation Block Grant Program (STBG), $13.84 billion (14 percent increase)
• Highway Safety Improvement Program, $2.98 billion (24 percent increase)
• Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement Program, $2.54 billion (1.7 percent increase)
• Metropolitan Planning Program, $468 million (21 percent increase)

Two additional formula programs – the Carbon Reduction Program ($1.23 billion) and the PROTECT Formula Program ($1.40 billion) – are new this year.

Even in the case of the National Highway Freight program, which saw funding reduced by 7.6 percent to $1.37 billion, will have that reduction offset by higher funding levels and other freight areas outside of the federal program, and in the infrastructure grant area.

In addition to formula funding, the BIL provides important competitive grant programs that align with different aspects of federal transportation policy. USDOT’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grants earmarked $1.5 billion this year for community projects with significant local impact, such as bus lanes, dock replacements or rails-to-trails projects.

Other forthcoming discretionary grants:

• The National Culvert Removal Replacement and Restoration Program (summer)
• SMART program for Innovative Technologies (September)

One of the big changes brought about by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is its significant funding through the National Bridge Repair and Replacement Formula Program.

Breaches with U.S. bridges were identified as one of the big priorities in the law, so in March, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) released $5.5 billion for its Bridge Investment Program, together with guidance on how the program will work.

“Over the length of this program, it is going to provide $27 billion to states to fix an estimated 15,000 bridges,” Perez said. “That's an average of 60 bridges, per state, per year, over the five-year period of the bill. That is a lot of bridges.”

“The distribution of those funds is largely up to states, and usually, state DOTs will make those funding decisions,” Perez said. “And at least 15 percent must be allocated to local, off-system bridges that are not part of the national highway system. Qualifying non-roadway bridges will also be eligible for a 100 percent matching grant.”

The amount of money flowing to the states is based on the cost and condition of bridges in each state, and it places priority on bridges that are closed or bridges with weight restrictions. A list of eligible, high-priority bridges is available by the FHWA to highlight all bridges that are eligible for funding.

New bridges are also eligible for funding, but are a lower priority and would need to address areas of emphasis that include equity, resilience, safety, reductions in greenhouse gas emissions, multimodal connectivity and bicycle-pedestrian considerations.  

In addition, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) announced the first round of its competitive Bridge Investment Program in June. The program will provide $12.5 billion over five years with nearly $2.4 billion in finding available in Fiscal Year 2022.

The Bridge Investment Program prioritizes the rehabilitation of bridges in fair condition and replacing unsafe bridges in poor condition. It features two types of construction grants covering “large” projects over $100 million and “bridge projects” for up to $100 million.

Together FHWA’s formula funding and competitive grants make $8.8 billion available to states and local regions for bridge improvements in Fiscal Year 2022.

The BIL also includes a variety of programs to encourage transition to alternative fuel vehicle fleets. The National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program provides $660 million in formula funding in Fiscal Year 2022, as well as $1.5 billion in competitive grants.

NEVI grants will provide funding for the installation of electric vehicle charging infrastructure along designated routes, including inter-state highways or other major roads.

“The idea is to establish an inter-connected network of alternative fuel corridors,” Perez said. “Bear in mind that alternative fuel corridors include electricity as well as hydrogen, propane and natural gas, with specific fueling infrastructure required for each of those fuels.”

The Bus and Bus Facilities Low or No Emissions Program, administered through the Federal Transit Administration (FTA), sets aside $1.5 billion in competitive grant funding for low or no emissions bus grants. A zero-emission fleet transition plan is also required as part of the process, and those plans need to address issues such as workforce training and retention guidance as we transition to new technologies and new skill sets with electric vehicles. Plans and funding applications will be due to the federal government on the first of August, with approval expected to be announced by the end of September.

“While there are fixed subject matter requirements in these plans, they are also open and have some flexibility in their interpretation,” Perez said. “The idea is to encourage states to innovate, and over the five-year funding term, these plans will evolve over time, and really will be living documents.”

The FHWA Carbon Reduction Program will provide $6.4 billion in funding over a five-year build period, and also requires each recipient to prepare a “robust” carbon reduction program plan that must be completed by 2023.

If a project is eligible for funding in multiple programs, Perez said cross applications would be appropriate and could improve a project’s funding opportunities.

“You are not limited to applying to just one program for a single project,” he said. “For some of the large discretionary grant programs, they can all be intermingled and combined with loans if a project generates revenue.”

Perez also recommended looking into opportunities to bundle multiple projects into a single grant application, which may increase the competitiveness of the grant and the likelihood of success, as well as streamline the workload.

“These competitive grant programs provide wonderful opportunities, but don’t forget that 72 percent of the highway and bridge funding in the BIL is directed to formula programs,” Perez said. “It’s important to be aware that eligibility requirements have expanded in some of those programs, such as the STBG formula funds that can now be used for electric vehicle charging infrastructure. Agencies should make sure that they are aware of all of those types of changes to be successful in funding their projects.”

(Note: These program details are updated through mid-July 2022.)

This is the second article in a six-part series offering a sector-by-sector review of what's been happening with BIL funding, and how to make the most of these opportunities. This series covers the BIL’s impact on:

• Part 1: Climate, Resilience & Sustainability (CRS) and Equity
• Part 2: Highways, Bridges and Electric Vehicles
• Part 3: Transit and Rail
• Part 4: Water
• Part 5: Energy
• Part 6: Aviation and Maritime Infrastructure

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