USDOT will award $900 million in BUILD grants

   The U.S. Department of Transportation on Thursday published a notice of funding opportunity for $900 million in fiscal year 2019 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) grants.
   Funds from the grant program will be awarded “on a competitive basis for surface infrastructure projects that will have a significant local or regional impact,” the department said in the notice. Eligible projects include highway, bridge or other road projects; public transportation projects; passenger and freight rail transportation projects; port infrastructure investments; and intermodal projects.
   “Like the FY 2017 TIGER program, the FY 2019 BUILD program will also give special consideration to projects which emphasize improved access to reliable, safe and affordable transportation for communities in rural areas, such as projects that improve infrastructure condition, address public health and safety, promote regional connectivity or facilitate economic growth or competitiveness,” according to the notice.
   The deadline to apply is 8 p.m. EDT July 15. State, local and tribal governments, transit agencies, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations and other political subdivisions of state and local governments are eligible to apply.
   The maximum BUILD grant award size is $25 million and no more than $90 million can be awarded to a single state. Not more than 50 percent of funds will be awarded to projects in urban and rural areas, respectively, the department said.
   More than $7 billion has been awarded for capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure over 10 rounds of grants since the program was created, the Transportation Department said.