Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act

On November 15, 2021, President Biden signed the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Public Law 117-58, also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law”) into law. The IIJA is the largest long-term investment in the Nation’s infrastructure and economy in history. It provides $550 billion over fiscal years 2022 through 2026 in new Federal investment in infrastructure, including in roads, bridges, and mass transit, water infrastructure, resilience, and broadband.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has launched a website designed for transportation agencies, communities and stakeholders interested in learning more about the IIJA. The website, at https://www.fhwa.dot.gov/bipartisan-infrastructure-law/, serves as a one-stop shop online for transportation agencies and others interested in learning more about new and existing FHWA programs as well as how to apply for grants and other discretionary funding opportunities available under the IIJA.

Note Regarding Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) and
PROTECT Discretionary Grant Programs

NYMTC has adopted two addenda to its Regional Transportation Plan that can assist applicants for two discretionary grant programs under the federal Intermodal Investment and Jobs Act. The Safety addendum and the Resilience Improvement Plan addendum are available for use in developing grant applications for the Safe Streets and Roads for All (SS4A) and PROTECT discretionary grant programs. They can be accessed through the following links:

Download
Safety addendum
Resilience addendum

These addenda can be used by applicants in the following ways:

• The Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the SS4A Program notes the following 

The SS4A program provides funding for two main types of grants: Planning and Demonstration Grants for comprehensive safety action plans, including supplemental safety planning, and/or safety demonstration activities; and Implementation Grants. Planning and Demonstration Grants are used to develop, complete, or supplement a comprehensive safety action plan, as well as carry out demonstration activities that inform an Action Plan.

Implementation Grants are used to implement strategies or projects that are consistent with an existing Action Plan and may also bundle funding requests for supplemental planning and demonstration activities that inform an Action Plan.

To apply for an Implementation Grant, the applicant must certify that they have an existing plan that is substantially similar to an Action Plan. The plan or plans must be uploaded as an attachment to the application or provided as web links to publicly available sites.

The Safety addendum to the Regional Transportation Plan can be used for this purpose.

• The program guidance for the PROTECT program notes the following 

There is a local match discount for project applications with a Resilience Improvement Plan. The non-Federal share may be reduced by:

• 7% if the applicant is a State or metropolitan planning organization or is located within one that has developed a Resilience Improvement Plan and that plan prioritizes the project, and
• 3% if the Resilience Improvement Plan is incorporated into the metropolitan transportation plan or the statewide long-range transportation plan.