Finding the Key to Securing Federal Funding for Transportation Projects

When the U.S. Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) was adopted in November 2021, it increased federal funding for transportation and infrastructure projects by about 30 percent and established several new and expanded grant programs.

But the largest federal infrastructure funding increase in more than six decades brought more than excitement to the transportation industry. It also introduced an array of new and often complex grant qualification and environmental requirements that can be difficult to navigate.

Alfonso Hernandez, assistant vice president for infrastructure funding and grants at WSP in the U.S., knows that understanding those requirements — and having a knowledgeable guide capable of positioning worthy projects for success — is what often separates the successful applications from the rejected ones.

“We’ve been going out and seeking federal competitive funding for our clients for many years,” Hernandez said. “We’re known in the industry for grant writing and I think we’ve been getting more attention because of all the funding now available under the BIL.”

In fact, during the first year of the BIL, while the overall industry success rate for the highly competitive Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grants was 18 percent, WSP client applications were successful nearly 50 percent of the time — 14 projects were awarded a total of $228.6 million in RAISE funding.

WSP provided those clients with multiple services in the application process, including development of the full application package, development of the benefit cost analysis and higher-level advising on competitiveness.

“Everybody’s talking about pursuing these funding opportunities for various needs, especially clients at the state, regional or local municipality levels,” Hernandez said. Now, across all BIL funding programs, WSP has successfully secured approximately $10 billion in funding for more than 60 client projects in just the past year-and-a-half. In addition, there are still several programs from Fiscal Years 2022 and 2023 that haven’t been announced.

“We have been helping transit agencies secure more than $10 billion in Capital Investment Grants over the past 10 years,” Hernandez added.

Major BIL programs that WSP has succeeded in obtaining funding for client projects include:

• $559 million from three U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Mega-grant awards;
• $632 million from five USDOT Bridge Investment Program grants awards;
• $6.88 billion from one USDOT Capital Investment Grant award; and
• $335 million from 21 FY22 and FY23 USDOT RAISE grant awards.

For the most part, a large portion of the funding is targeted towards infrastructure — particularly for transportation, where WSP has a lot of clients at the state level. There are also several other opportunities under BIL, in addition to the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) and Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors Act (CHIPS).

“We are in a historic moment of federal, corporate and philanthropic investment,” Hernandez said. “Public entities have more funding opportunities available to them than ever before. The secret is uncovering them.”

In fact, since 2021 the American Rescue Plan Act, BIL, IRA and CHIPS account for a combined $3.9 trillion of new federal infrastructure investment.

The WSP grants team is growing as well and is working with clients across the public and private sectors in industries that extend beyond transportation.

Most of the team brings public sector experience with federal, state and regional entities, providing the added perspective of understanding the needs of the client to offer a strategic and competitive edge – planners, engineers and grant management specialists all contribute to the success of our clients.

“There’s a lot of analysis and research that goes into it, so it’s a distinct benefit for clients to have our professionals help them with their very rigorous, complex grant applications,” Hernandez said. “We also like to start early and often look at projects well before a funding opportunity announcement is released.”

The process begins by analyzing the client’s portfolio and determining which funding applications provide the best opportunities for success. That allows the team to hit the ground running when funding opportunities emerge.

“When a grant is announced, we’re lucky if we have 60 calendar days to write a very compelling application,” he said. “So, the earlier we get started, the more prepared we are to speak to the actual project and capture the needs of the client within that application.”

Additional considerations for funding submissions can include factors like project readiness or a client’s local — and sometimes political — priorities.

Hernandez has had many success stories over his 18-year career helping clients secure grants. But there was one recent memorable experience that stands out for him.

“The client had tried several times to get funding for a project, but to no avail,” Hernandez said. “We knew it would qualify for a competitive new grant program under BIL and it was our mindset to pursue it. So, we started early, collected new data, and brought in additional subject matter experts.”

The application resulted in a $400 million award.

“The funny thing was, they only sought a $100 million grant in their first four attempts,” he added. “So, they actually received more money by waiting a little bit longer.”

Hernandez, who started his career as a transit planner at a small agency, said he still finds it rewarding to win funding for new services and amenities in rural communities. “I saw the rewards of that in my grant writing then. Now, I’m doing much larger infrastructure projects, so it's nice to see those be recognized.”

In the past 15 years since WSP started offering this client service, it has achieved $41.8 billion in grant awards and loans for 275 client projects.

Hernandez said he enjoys the challenge of working with state DOTs for billion-dollar projects that are going to have a major impact on millions of people.

“I like that grants keep me on my toes, because of all the rolling deadlines,” he said. ““But the most difficult part is when a program is successfully funded and I have to say farewell. But I still enjoy keeping tabs on their progress on my own. The entire process is fulfilling and rewarding.”

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