$5.5B in Discretionary Funding Available

The USDOT has opened a streamlined application process to access more than $5.5B in funding under the Multimodal Project Discretionary Grant (MPDG) program to help carry out major infrastructure projects across the country. MPDG solicits applications for three separate funding programs under a single opportunity.

The MPDG funds:

• The $1.8B National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) Program
• The $3.1B Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) Program
• The $675M Rural Surface Transportation Grant (Rural) Program

Eligible projects include:

• Highways & bridges
• Intercity passenger rail
• Railway-highway grade crossing or separation
• Public transportation
• Wildlife crossing

The deadline for applications is 11:59 pm ET on August 21, 2023. Applicants will find a NOFO, FAQ, and other helpful resources here.

The USDOT is hosting a webinar on July 6 to provide inform potential rural and tribal applicants on each of the three programs, including , eligibility, statutory requirements and selection criteria. Recordings of all past/upcoming MPDG webinars can be found here.

We've laid out the basics for all three MPDG grants below

$1.8B Available in Mega Program Grants

The National Infrastructure Project Assistance (Mega) program supports large, complex projects that are difficult to fund by other means and likely to generate national or regional economic, mobility, or safety benefits.

Eligible projects include:

• A highway or bridge project on the National Multimodal Freight Network, National Highway Freight Network, or National Highway System 
• A freight intermodal or freight rail project that provides public benefit 
• A railway highway grade separation or elimination project 
• An intercity passenger rail project 
• A public transportation project eligible for assistance under Chapter 53 of Title 49 and is a part of any of the project types described above 

Learn more about the Mega program,

eligibility, and the prior 2022 award winners

$3.1B Available in INFRA Grants

The Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program awards competitive grants to multimodal freight and highway projects of national or regional significance in and across rural and urban areas. Eligible projects will improve safety, generate economic benefits, reduce congestion, enhance resiliency, and hold the greatest promise to eliminate supply chain bottlenecks and improve critical freight movements.

Eligible projects include:

• A highway freight project on the National Highway Freight Network, a highway/bridge project on the National Highway System, or a highway, bridge, or freight project on the National Multimodal Freight Network

• A freight intermodal/rail or other freight project within a freight rail, water or intermodal facility that is a surface transportation infrastructure project necessary to facilitate direct intermodal interchange

• A highway-railway grade crossing or grade separation project

• A wildlife crossing

• A surface transportation project within or connected to an international border crossing that improves a federal/state/local gov facility

• A marine highway corridor connected to the National Highway Freight Network that will reduce road mobile source emissions 

Find out more about the INFRA program

$675M Available in Rural Grants

The Rural Surface Transportation Grant (Rural) program supports projects that improve and expand our nation’s surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas in order to increase connectivity, improve the safety and reliability of the movement of people and freight, and generate regional economic growth and improve quality of life.

Eligible projects include:

• A highway, bridge, or tunnel project eligible under National Highway Performance Program, Surface Transportation Block Grant, or Tribal Transportation Program 

• A highway freight project eligible under the National Highway Freight Program 

• A highway safety or high risk rural road improvement project as defined by the Highway Safety Improvement Program 

• A publicly-owned highway or bridge project that provides or increases access to an agricultural, commercial, energy, or intermodal facility that supports a rural area 

• A project to develop, establish, or maintain an integrated mobility management system, a transportation demand management system, or on-demand mobility services

Per law, 90% of rural funding must be awarded in $25M or greater amounts.

Find out more about the Rural program

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