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U.S. Department of Transportation U.S. Department of Transportation Icon United States Department of Transportation United States Department of Transportation

Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program

New Date for Application Opening – 
Portal Opens Tuesday, March 18, 2025 at 2 p.m. ET
 

Visit Grants.gov: https://www.grants.gov/search-results-detail/357673

The Bureau issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for up to $27 million in no-match grants on a first-come, first-served basis, with applications accepted beginning March 18, 2025, at 2 p.m. ET. Interested entities may access copies of the NOFO and application questions below to review and draft responses in advance. The application portal will close on April 17, 2025, at 4:59 p.m. ET. Expect to see an updated notice of funding announcement and application question documents here soon. 

The Bureau held an informational webinar on January 14, 2025.  View the slides and the recorded webinar - enter this exact passcode: S6CyH1q%


Not sure if your project is rural? 

Your project is eligible if: 

The project is not in a Census Bureau 2020 designated urban area.
OR - The project is in a Census Bureau 2020 designated urban area with a population of 150,000 or less. 

Your project is not eligible if it is in a Census Bureau 2020 designated urban area that has a population of more than 150,000 people. 

Also, you may wish to visit: Rural Eligibility | US Department of Transportation.

For step-by-step instructions on using the eligibility tool, please view this tutorial.*  

Additional resource: Lookup an address to see if it is rural on Tigerweb* -- follow these instructions

*Accessibility statement: If you need assistance using this tool, please email RuralandTribalTA@dot.gov. 

Photo of Cumberland Maryland during fall with colorful trees
Cumberland, Maryland downtown photo during fall. 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) enhanced the Build America Bureau’s capacity to help more communities advance infrastructure projects that enhance the safety, efficiency, and quality of the country’s transportation system. A key enhancement was the creation of multiple new programs to be administered by the Bureau, resulting in enhanced technical assistance to support communities without the resources to explore innovative financing and project delivery methods for their projects. 


The IIJA created the Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program, which provides grants to support legal, technical, and financial advisors to help advance infrastructure projects.


Eligible project sponsors may receive grant funds to select advisors to assist with pre-development-phase activities, including: 
•    feasibility studies
•    project planning
•    revenue forecasting and funding and financing options analyses 
•    preliminary engineering and design work
•    environmental review
•    economic assessments and cost-benefit analyses
•    public benefits studies
•    statutory and regulatory framework analyses
•    value-for-money (VFM) studies  
•    evaluations of costs to sustain the project
•    evaluation opportunities for private financing and project bundling  
 

For more information, please email RuralandTribalTA@dot.gov.


FY23 Information:

Click this link to view the 2023 Applications Dashboard.

Click this link to read the FY23 Notice of Funding Opportunity document. Review the FAQ's document.

View the June 15, 2024, webinar (passcode: *1P9RsQJ) and view the slides with this link.

View the July 20, 2024, webinar with this link (passcode: m!5Ov0B^), and view the slides at this link.

Disclaimer: All webinar cloud recordings require a passcode and cannot be removed per DOT guidelines.

View the FY23 PDF sample application here