Federal grant programs / Department of Transportation

Highway Planning and Construction (20.205)

Also known as Federal-Aid Highway Program, Federal Lands Highway Program

• Awarded, FY 2021 to 2025$304 billion
• Grant awards202,903
• Typical award$264,855
• Awarded in FY 2025$67 billion
• Size rank2 of 1,823
• Type of assistanceFormula grants, project grants

Key findings

• Annual funding rose from $50 billion in fiscal 2021 to $67 billion in fiscal 2025.
• It is the 2nd largest of 1,823 federal grant programs by five-year awards.
• The 20 largest recipients received 66% of the money.
• Awards went to recipients in 56 states and territories.

What the program funds

This Assistance Listing encompasses several transportation programs: 1) Federal-aid Highway Program: The purpose of the Federal-aid Highway Program is to assist the States in providing for construction, preservation, and improvement of highways and bridges on eligible Federal-Aid routes, (including the National Highway System (NHS) - an integrated, interconnected transportation system important to interstate commerce and travel), and for other special purpose programs and projects. This program also provides for the construction and improvement of highways in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, American Samoa, Guam, the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. 2) The Federal Lands Highway Program: The Federal Lands Transportation Program (FLTP) aids the Federal Land Management Agencies (FLMAs) for Federally owned roads and trails. It provides transportation engineering services and funding for planning, design, construction, and rehabilitation of the highways and bridges that are on or provide access to federally owned lands. The Tribal Transportation Program (TTP) provides safe and adequate transportation and public road access to and within tribal communities. The Federal Lands Highway organization also provides training, technology deployment, and engineering services to other customers. 3) The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs (IIJA) Act is a once-in-a-generation investment in our infrastructure that will help grow the economy, enhance U.S. competitiveness, create good jobs, and build our safe and resilient transportation future. IIJA provides the basis for FHWA programs and activities through September 30, 2026. It makes an investment of $350 billion in highway programs. This includes the largest dedicated bridge investment since the construction of the Interstate Highway System. New programs under the IIJA focus on key infrastructure priorities including rehabilitating bridges in critical need of repair, increasing system resilience, removing barriers to connecting communities, and improving mobility and access to economic opportunity. Many of the new programs include eligibility for local governments, Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs), Tribes, and other public authorities, allowing them to compete directly for funding. IIJA also continues to focus the program on safety and performance-based investment and on accelerating project delivery through expedited environmental review and elimination of duplicate processes. 4) The Highway Infrastructure Programs in the Department of Transportation Appropriations Act, 2018, included two new competitive programs: Competitive Bridge Program and Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program. The Competitive Bridge Program was appropriated $225 million to be used for highway bridge rehabilitation or replacement projects for States that have a population density of less than 100 individuals per square mile and that demonstrate cost savings by bundling multiple highway bridge projects.

From the federal Assistance Listing. Read the full listing on SAM.gov.

Open opportunities

No opportunity under this program is open or forecast on Grants.gov right now. Programs often post once a year, so the funding history below shows what to expect.

Rules from the program listing

Who can apply

By law, the Federal-aid highway program is a federally assisted State administered program that requires each State to have a suitably equipped and organized transportation department. Therefore, most projects are administered by or through State transportation departments (State DOTs). Projects to be funded under the Federal-aid highway program are generally selected by State DOTs or MPOs, in cooperation with appropriate local officials, as specified in 23 U.S.C. and implementing regulations. Territorial highway projects are funded in the similar manner as other Federal aid highway projects, with the territorial transportation agency functioning in a manner similar to a State transportation department. Most FLTP projects are administered by the FHWA Office of Federal Lands Highway and its Divisions or by the various FLMAs.

What the money can and cannot pay for

1) Federal-aid highway funds may be used for environmental studies, engineering and design services, right-of-way acquisition and relocation assistance, and construction for capital improvement projects classified as new construction, reconstruction, restoration, rehabilitation, resurfacing and preservation, or for functional, geometric, or safety reasons. Funds may also be used for planning; research, development, and technology transfer; intelligent transportation systems projects; roadside beautification; wetland and natural habitat mitigation; traffic management and control improvements; improvements necessary to accommodate other transportation modes; development and implementation of performance and asset management systems; billboard removal; construction of bicycle facilities and pedestrian walkways; fringe and corridor parking; car pool and van pool projects; transportation alternatives and enhancements such as scenic and historic highway improvements; and recreational trails. Funds generally cannot be used for routine highway operational activities, such as police patrols, mowing, snow plowing, litter control, or maintenance, unless it is preventative maintenance. Eligibility criteria for the various programs differ, so program guidance should be consulted.

Continue reading on SAM.gov

Matching requirements

This program has no statutory formula. Typically, 80% of costs are federally funded with a 20% matching requirement. See 23 USC 120. Exceptions apply; contact FHWA for specific information.MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

Award range and average, in the agency's words

Federal-aid highway funds are provided to States on an annual basis, by a combination of statutory formula and discretionary allocation. The most recent authorization act is the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA).

Quoted from the program's federal Assistance Listing. The notice of funding opportunity is the official source for each competition's rules.

Who usually wins

State and local governments received 99% of the money, tribes 0.6% and businesses less than 0.1%.

By state

Each state below has its own page for this program, with its recipients and yearly totals.

Award amounts are federal obligations reported to USAspending.gov for fiscal 2021 to 2025; see how our data works.