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By Amanda Hampton, Associate,
Nessle & Blakey
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) was signed into law in 2021, providing much-needed funding for surface transportation grant programs that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) continues to administer. While the funding levels were historic, entities applying for and receiving federal funds continue to face challenges as they identify relevant grant programs and navigate the project planning, design, and construction phases.
In many cases, funding recipients experience difficulties delivering infrastructure projects on time due to a variety of reasons, such as poor coordination, ineffective processes, and changes in project costs, among others. These challenges exist across the industry but can particularly hinder smaller entities and first-time funding recipients with limited resources.
Acknowledging that the pre-implementation phase is essential for delivering projects on time and budget, an “Action Plan to Accelerate Infrastructure” was issued by President Biden last year. The action plan outlined various initiatives to speed up the project planning, design, and construction phases. One of these initiatives directed USDOT to establish a Project Delivery Center of Excellence.
On July 26, USDOT officially launched the Project Delivery Center of Excellence, which will help federal grant recipients by serving as a central repository for best practices. USDOT identified four initial plans for the Project Delivery Center of Excellence in the launch announcement. The Project Delivery Center of Excellence will: simplify the contracting process by providing a model that can be used to ensure construction contracts are consistent and high-quality for newer grant recipients; organize information exchanges and centralize best practices for project delivery; distribute best practices and case studies for successful project development, project delivery, and containing project costs; and partner with the American Society of Civil Engineers and Association of Consulting Engineering Companies to establish and distribute templates as well as model language for transportation construction contracts.
The environmental review process is another common sticking point for entities delivering infrastructure projects. Building on efforts to ensure projects are delivered on time, the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) issued a proposed
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rule – the Bipartisan Permitting Reform Implementation Rule – to accelerate environmental reviews under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA). While the proposal implements certain NEPA reforms established in the Fiscal Responsibility Act, such as setting page limits for environmental assessments and environmental impact statements (EIS), it also would modify existing requirements so that an EIS is only required for projects with significant adverse environmental impacts. This departs from current regulations requiring an EIS to be completed for any project impacting the environment. The CEQ proposal would also increase the speed at which agencies can establish categorical exclusions.
As USDOT and the White House continue to focus on effectively delivering projects, the Department has several grant application deadlines approaching. USDOT is accepting applications for the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant program through a combined notice of funding opportunity for three programs: the National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) program, which supports projects that are too large or complex for traditional funding methods; the Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program, which supports multimodal freight and highway projects of national or regional significance; and the Rural Surface Transportation Grant (Rural) program, which supports projects improving surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas.
USDOT is accepting applications for $1.8 billion in available funding for the Mega program, $3.1 billion in available funding for the INFRA program, and $675 million in available funding for the Rural program. Eligible applicants may submit a total of nine applications with a three application limit per program by August 21.
Nessle & Blakey, Ltd. is a public affairs and
communications consulting firm based in
Washington, DC.
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