PIERRE, S.D. – The U.S. Department of Transportation recently issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) to announce the availability of over $1.4 billion in Consolidated Rail Infrastructure and Safety Improvement (CRISI) Grant funding. The CRISI Program, which is administered by the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), advances projects that modernize America’s freight and passenger rail infrastructure, allowing people and goods to move more safely and efficiently and helping make goods more affordable for American families.
This year, funding for the CRISI Program tripled to meet the heavy demand for rail funds from states and local communities. The program allocates at least 25% of total funds for projects in rural areas. The NOFO is published in the Sept. 1, 2022, Federal Register found here. Applications for funding are due to the FRA on Thursday, Dec. 1, 2022. FRA will support applicants with web-based training and technical assistance. More information about the CRISI Program can be found on the FRA website here.
Please find the official NOFO press release from the USDOT at https://railroads.dot.gov/newsroom/press-releases/biden-harris-administration-usdot-make-unprecedented-14-billion-rail-1.
In preparation of the SDDOT submitting grant applications to the FRA, the State Railroad Board is preemptively requesting written reports and supporting information from interested parties. Once the information is submitted and approved by the State Railroad Board, the state will file a CRISI grant request on behalf of the interested party. If the party is requesting funding from the State Rail Trust Fund to support a proposed CRISI grant application, include the amount in the application request. The written report for each proposed grant should include information identifying how the project will meet the NOFO.
The written report should also include information identifying the statewide benefit achieved for the project. The narrative is to include details, in economic terms, of the merits of investing in the proposed project and provide supporting benefit cost calculations to demonstrate economic vitality of the proposed expenditure of funds.
The written report will include the following information:
- Narrative describing how the project meets each of the State Rail Plan goals
- Project Information Describing:
- Project Summary (project location, scope, and schedule)
- Proposed Project Funding (Federal, State, other)
- Project or Plan Readiness
- Environmental Readiness
- Overall Benefit with accompanying BCA ratio; if BCA ratio is available
- Proposed responsible party tasked with developing the application
- Proposed funding for creating the application
The Railroad Board will provide an opportunity for presentations at the scheduled meeting on Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022.
If selected by the Board for submittal of a CRISI grant application to FRA, the applicant will need to provide a fully completed grant application to SDDOT by Monday, Nov. 21, 2022. If unable to commit to this deadline, a grant request should not be submitted.
The notice from FRA for Special Transportation Circumstance (STC) funding, that the State of South Dakota also receives, is not included in this notice. A separate STC application notice is anticipated to be announced in October 2022.
About SDDOT:
The mission of the South Dakota Department of Transportation is to efficiently provide a safe and effective public transportation system.
Read more about the innovative work of the SDDOT at https://dot.sd.gov.
Original source can be found here.
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