Deadlines for DOT freight grants, strategic plan move close

Applications for U.S. Department of Transportation FASTLane and TIGER grants are due soon, as are comments on the first draft of its National Freight Strategic Plan.    Freight transportation project sponsors and their private sector partners interested in obtaining federal dollars and improving policymaking around goods movement should pay close attention to the calendar this month.
   April 14th is the last day for applicants to file for grants under the FASTLane program, one of two new initiatives in the recent FAST Act that provides dedicated funding for freight-related infrastructure projects. FASTLane, which is managed by the U.S. Department of Transportation, provides $4.5 billion over five years for projects of national or regional significance and intermodal projects are also eligible. The funding availability for fiscal year 2016 is $800 million.
   The application deadline for TIGER grants is April 29. The TIGER program was created by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act to fund multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional surface transportation projects, which normally get left out of traditional formula funding sent to state departments of transportation to support upkeep of the national highway system. Since 2009, TIGER has distributed almost $4.6 billion to 381 projects across the nation. 
   The eighth round of TIGER funding makes $500 million available to various governmental entities and metropolitan planning organizations. Winners will be announced in the summer, according to the DOT.
   Meanwhile, freight stakeholders are encouraged to file comments to the DOT’s draft National Freight Strategic Plan by April 25. The DOT will use the comments to revise the draft plan.
   The National Freight Strategic Plan, mandated by Congress in 2012, is expected to help policymakers make better decisions about where to allocate scarce resources based on the where investments can have the most economic benefit.
   The DOT has increasingly been focused on goods movement in recent years and now has increased direction and resources from Congress to implement new initiatives.