USDOT: 2023 RAISE Grant Applications Welcome
Written by Marybeth Luczak, Executive Editor
The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the FY 2023 RAISE program, providing $1.5 billion in discretionary grant funding for freight and passenger transportation infrastructure projects with “significant local or regional impact.”
The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) application deadline is 11:59 p.m. ET on Feb. 28, 2023, and selections will be announced no later than June 28, 2023. (Scroll down for downloadable NOFO.)
RAISE projects are reviewed and evaluated on statutory criteria of safety; environmental sustainability; quality of life; mobility and community connectivity; economic competitiveness; and opportunity, including tourism, state of good repair, partnership and collaboration, and innovation, USDOT reported on Dec. 15. Project sponsors may be at the state and local levels, including municipalities, Tribal governments, counties and others.
Half of the funding is slated to go to projects in rural areas, and half to projects in urban areas. At least $15 million is guaranteed to go toward projects located in “areas of persistent poverty” or “historically disadvantaged communities”; projects located in these areas will be eligible for up to 100% federal cost share, according to USDOT.
In addition to capital awards, USDOT said it will award at least $75 million for planning, preparation or design of projects eligible for RAISE grants that do not result in construction with FY 2023 RAISE funding.
The Department reported that it “is encouraging applicants to consider how their projects can address climate change, ensure racial equity and remove barriers to opportunity.” Additionally, it “intends to use the RAISE program to support wealth creation and the creation of good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union, the incorporation of strong labor standards, and training and placement programs, especially registered apprenticeships.”
USDOT added that projects designated “Reconnecting Extra” during the new FY 2022 Reconnecting Communities Program (RCP) competition and submitted for consideration under the FY 2023 RAISE NOFO “will have a greater opportunity to be advanced during the FY 2023 RAISE evaluation process, as described in the NOFO.”
“The historic investments the Biden-Harris Administration is announcing today [Dec. 15] will help communities across the country modernize their transportation,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “After decades of underinvestment in America’s infrastructure, we are supporting projects that help people and goods get where they need to go more safely, efficiently and affordably.”
