Explanation
1. BACKGROUND
The United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for approximately $2.3 billion in discretionary grant funding through the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Grant Program. This is the fifteenth round of funding for the RAISE grant program. The NOFO was released on December 14, 2022 and amended on January 3, 2023. It will remain open through February 28, 2023.
Since 2009, $12.1 billion has been awarded under National Infrastructure Investments for capital investments and planning grants for surface transportation infrastructure. Throughout the program, these discretionary grant awards have supported projects that improve safety, economic strength and global competitiveness, equity, and climate and sustainability consistent with DOT’s strategic goals. FY 2023 RAISE grants continue to align with these strategic goals. USDOT seeks to fund projects under the RAISE Program that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and are designed with specific elements to address climate change impacts. USDOT also seeks to award projects under the RAISE Program that address environmental justice, particularly for communities that disproportionally experience climate change-related consequences. The Department also seeks to award projects under the RAISE Program that proactively address racial equity and barriers to opportunity, including automobile dependence as a form of barrier, or redress prior inequities and barriers to opportunity. In addition to prioritizing projects that address climate change, proactively address racial equity, and reduce barriers to opportunity, the Department intends to use the RAISE program to support the creation of good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union and the incorporation of strong labor standards and training and placement programs, especially registered apprenticeships and Local Hire agreements, in proj...
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