FY 2024 National Infrastructure Investments | DTOS59 24 RA RAISE

Opportunity Information: Apply for DTOS59 24 RA RAISE

The FY 2024 National Infrastructure Investments opportunity is the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the Local and Regional Project Assistance Program, better known as the RAISE Grants program. Funding comes from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021 (also called the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, or BIL), which provided $1.5 billion for DOT to award competitively to transportation projects expected to create meaningful local or regional benefits. DOT frames this round the same way prior RAISE/BUILD/TIGER rounds have worked: applicants compete for discretionary grants, and DOT selects projects that best meet program goals and demonstrate strong outcomes.

A key set of requirements in this NOFO is about how the money must be balanced and distributed. At least 5 percent of the total funding (a minimum of $75 million out of $1.5 billion) must go to planning, preparation, or design activities for eligible projects, ensuring that early-stage work is funded and not just construction. The BIL also places guardrails on rural versus urban awards: no more than 50 percent of total funds may go to projects in rural areas (defined here as population 200,000 or less), and no more than 50 percent may go to projects in urbanized areas (population more than 200,000). On top of that, no single state may receive more than 15 percent of the total available RAISE funds (up to $225 million), and DOT is required to pursue an equitable geographic spread, maintain an appropriate balance between rural and urban needs, and invest across a variety of transportation modes rather than concentrating funding in only one type of project.

The NOFO also emphasizes schedule realism and statutory deadlines. FY 2024 RAISE funds must be obligated by September 30, 2028, and all funds must be fully expended by September 30, 2033. These timelines are fixed by law, and the NOFO notes that no waivers are possible. Because of that, DOT will factor project readiness into its evaluation, including whether a project can move forward in time to meet the obligation deadline and whether the applicant has a credible plan to deliver the work within the required period.

Another notable feature is the connection to federal credit assistance. The BIL allows DOT to use up to 20 percent of available funds (as much as $300 million) to cover subsidy and administrative costs for projects that receive credit assistance under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) program, as long as doing so supports RAISE program purposes. This gives DOT flexibility to pair RAISE with financing tools in cases where credit assistance helps advance a project.

Applicants that previously received TIGER, BUILD, or RAISE awards are allowed to apply again to fund additional phases of earlier projects. However, the NOFO makes clear that competitiveness will depend on performance evidence, such as whether the earlier phase stayed on schedule and within budget and whether it is on track to deliver the benefits that were originally promised. DOT also notes that awards will be administered through the appropriate DOT modal administration (for example, the relevant operating administration aligned with the project), and recipients should expect to operate under a formal grant agreement with that modal office.

Award sizes are capped and structured to support both major construction and smaller rural needs. For most projects, individual RAISE awards must be at least $5 million and no more than $25 million, with an important exception that rural projects may request as little as $1 million. Planning projects are treated differently: there is no minimum award size for planning, preparation, or design efforts, which aligns with the statutory set-aside for pre-construction activities.

Eligibility is broad and designed to cover most public-sector transportation sponsors. Eligible applicants include states (and the District of Columbia), U.S. territories or possessions, units of local government, public agencies or publicly chartered authorities created by one or more states, special purpose districts or public authorities with transportation functions (including port authorities), federally recognized Indian Tribes (or consortia of Tribes), transit agencies, and multi-state or multi-jurisdictional groups of entities. Joint applications are allowed and can be a good fit for corridor or regional projects, but they must name a lead applicant, ensure every participating party is independently eligible, clearly describe each party's roles and responsibilities, and include signatures from each project party.

From the source posting details, this is a discretionary grant opportunity in the transportation category (Assistance Listing/CFDA 20.933) issued by DOTs Office of the Under Secretary for Policy (Agency code 69A345). The funding opportunity number is DTOS59-24-RA-RAISE. DOT anticipated roughly 150 awards, with an award ceiling of $25,000,000, consistent with the statutory maximum for most projects. The original application deadline listed was February 28, 2024, and the notice also flags that DOT may amend the NOFO if FY 2024 appropriations provide additional RAISE funding or impose significantly different requirements.

• The 69A345 Office of the Under Secretary for Policy in the transportation sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "FY 2024 National Infrastructure Investments" and is now available to receive applicants.
• Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 20.933.
• This funding opportunity was created on 2023-11-30.
• Applicants must submit their applications by 2024-02-28. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
• Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $25,000,000.00 in funding.
• The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 150 candidate(s).
• Eligible applicants include: Others.

Apply for DTOS59 24 RA RAISE

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