Funding Area: Transportation

Established by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, the new Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) will provide $5 billion between 2022-2026 to support local initiatives aimed at preventing serious injuries and fatalities that occur on our nation’s roadways. Project could include the implementation of improvements that expand multimodal networks with improved pedestrian crossing safety features, installing safety enhancements like sidewalks, and creating safe routes to school and public transit services through multiple activities that lead to people safely walking, biking, and rolling in underserved communities.

The Department of Transportation has released the fiscal year (FY) 2025 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) program.

BUILD grants (formerly known as RAISE) are for investments in surface transportation infrastructure and are awarded on a competitive basis to projects that will have a significant local or regional impact. BUILD funding can support greenways, bike trails, and pedestrian paths, along with roads, bridges, transit, rail, and ports.

The FY2025 BUILD NOFO is now closed.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continued the Transportation Alternatives set-aside from the Surface Transportation Block Grant (STBG) program. The Transportation Alternatives (TA) program is the nation’s largest dedicated source of funding for trail and active transportation projects. It provides federal funds for a variety of generally smaller-scale transportation projects such as pedestrian and bicycle facilities; construction of overlooks, and viewing areas; community improvements such as historic preservation and vegetation management; environmental mitigation related to stormwater and habitat connectivity; recreational trails; safe routes to school projects; and vulnerable road user safety assessments.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law continued the Recreational Trails Program (RTP) as a set-aside from the Transportation Alternatives program. The RTP provides funds to states to develop and maintain recreational trails and trail-related facilities for both nonmotorized and motorized recreational trail uses. The funds represent a portion of the motor fuel excise tax collected from nonhighway recreational fuel use by snowmobiles, all-terrain vehicles, off-highway motorcycles, and off-highway light trucks.

The Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality Improvement (CMAQ) Program provides funds to States for transportation projects designed to reduce traffic congestion and improve air quality, particularly in areas of the country that do not attain national air quality standards. The program has been a key mechanism for supporting investments that encourage alternatives to driving alone, improve traffic flow, and help urban areas meet air quality goals. Eligible projects include bicycle and pedestrian facilities. 

According to estimates from the U.S. Department of Transportation, highway construction has displaced more than 475,000 households and more than a million people. Highways across the country have cut through neighborhoods, disrupted the pedestrian landscape, worsened air quality, and lowered property values. During this time, impacted communities have suffered lost homes, small businesses, and places to gather. The impacted neighborhoods were largely racial minority and/or low-income communities. The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law included $1 billion towards the new Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program designed to remove, retrofit, or mitigate eligible facilities, restoring community connectivity, and improving people’s lives. The RCP Program will also provide technical assistance and capacity building support through the Reconnecting Communities Institute.

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Act established the Carbon Reduction Program (CRP), which provides funds for projects designed to reduce transportation emissions, defined as carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from on-road highway sources. Eligible projects include the construction, planning, and design of on-and off-road trail facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other nonmotorized forms of transportation. This recognizes the important role that trails and active transportation play in addressing and mitigating the climate impacts of the transportation sector, the largest carbon-emitting sector in the U.S.

The Department of Transportation created this program to provide technical assistance and capacity building. The program supports communities with planning and project development of transformative infrastructure projects that increase affordable transportation options, enhance economic opportunity, reduce environmental burdens, improve access and quality of life, and provide other benefits to disadvantaged communities.