Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program

Susan Wilson
202.366.0765
RuralandTribalTA@dot.gov

The Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program will provide grants to support transportation project development in rural and tribal communities that may lead to future applications to U.S. Department of Transportation credit and grant programs.

Funding may be used to hire or contract with advisors to assist with pre-development activities, including:

• Feasibility studies
• Project planning
• Revenue forecasting and funding and financing options analyses
• Preliminary engineering and design work
• Environmental review
• Economic assessments and cost-benefit analyses
• Public benefits studies
• Statutory and regulatory framework analyses
• Value-for-money (VFM) studies
• Evaluations of costs to sustain the project
• Evaluation opportunities for private financing and project bundling

Eligible applicants include:

• Units of local government or political subdivisions that are located outside of an urbanized area with a population of more than 150,000 residents as determined by the Bureau of the Census
• States seeking to advance a project in an area located outside of an urbanized area with a population of more than 150,000 residents as determined by the Bureau of the Census
• Federally recognized tribes
• Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

Award ceiling: $360,000
Award floor: $10,000
Estimated number of awards: 14
Estimated total program funding: $3,400,000

Links to additional guidance, application instructions, and a sample application are available on the program website and grants.gov.

Applicant webinar recording
Passcode: 1P9RsQJ
Slides