New York City Insider: Representative Adriano Espaillat Announces Transportation Grants for District Infrastructure Projects.

 

PRESS RELEASE For Immediate Release March 28, 2022

Representative Adriano Espaillat Announces Transportation Grants for District Infrastructure Projects. Deadline to Apply for the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant Opportunity (MPDG) is May 23, 2022.   WASHING, DC -- Representative Adriano Espaillat (NY-13) announces the opening of grant opportunities through the U.S. Department of Transportation for the combined Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Department’s Multimodal project discretionary grants that includes the Mega, INFRA, and Rural grant programs.  The application deadline for MPDG grant opportunity is May 23, 2022, and applications must be submitted through Grants.gov. For additional information or if interested in receiving additional assistance, please visit the Department’s Grants homepage: www.transportation.gov/grants and search for MPDG grants.  SUMMARY: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law established two new programs and reauthorized one preexisting program which are being solicited together using this NOFO. * Mega: $1 billion of FY 2022 funding for the National Infrastructure Project Assistance grants program, known as the Mega Grants program; * INFRA: Approximately $1.55 billion in FY 2022 funding to be made available for the Nationally Significant Multimodal Freight and Highways Projects grants program, known as INFRA;  *  Rural: $300 million in FY 2022 funding for the Rural Surface Transportation Grant program, known as Rural. DOT is combining these three programs into single NOFO to provide a more efficient application process for project sponsors. While they remain separate programs for the purposes of award, the programs share many common characteristics, including a larger project size, multimodal eligibility, and many shared statutory project requirements. Because of these shared characteristics, it is possible for many projects to be eligible and considered for multiple programs using a single application. *  The INFRA program: At least 15% of the funds are reserved for small projects *  The new Mega program: Focused on large multimodal transportation projects, with 50% of the funding being awarded to projects greater than $500 million in total project cost, and the remaining 50% of the funding being awarded to projects between $100 million and $500 million in total project costs. The Mega program will help large multimodal projects with gaps in their financial plans. *  The new Rural program: Reserved for surface transportation projects in rural areas, with a minimum of 90% of all projects having a minimum $25 million Rural grant award. The Rural program will focus on rural needs, such as improving highway safety and expanding access to rural transit service.  Set asides for projects on the Appalachian Development Highway System and projects located in states with above average rural lane departure fatality rates. While the MPDG grant opportunity consists of three separate programs, DOT will evaluate common applications for the programs using common merit criteria and considerations to provide a more streamlined and efficient application process for project sponsors. The common set of criteria include: safety; state of good repair; economic impacts, freight movement, and job creation; climate change, resiliency, and the environment; equity, multimodal options, and quality of life; and innovation. Additional considerations include cost effectiveness; demonstrated project readiness, which includes technical assessment, financial completeness, and environmental review and permitting risk; and geographic diversity among recipients, including a balance between the needs of urban and rural projects.  Representative Espaillat is the first Dominican American to serve in the U.S. House of Representatives and his congressional district includes Harlem, East Harlem, West Harlem, Hamilton Heights, Washington Heights, Inwood, Marble Hill and the north-west Bronx. First elected to Congress in 2016, Representative Espaillat is serving his third term in Congress. Representative Espaillat currently serves as a member of the influential U.S. House Committee on Appropriations responsible for funding the federal government’s vital activities. He is also a member of the House Committee on Education and Labor and the Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC), where he serves in a leadership role as the Second Vice Chair and is a member of the Congressional Progressive Caucus, where he serves as Deputy Whip. Representative Espaillat also currently serves as a Senior Whip of the Democratic Caucus. To find out more about Rep. Espaillat, visit online at https://espaillat.house.gov/. Media inquiries: Candace Person at Candace.Person@mail.house.gov