Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program

Aubrei Barton
202.841.7786
MPDGrants@dot.gov

The Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program will provide grants for projects to improve and expand the surface transportation infrastructure in rural areas to increase connectivity, improve the safety and reliability of the movement of people and freight, generate regional economic growth, and improve quality of life.

Quality of life improvements include projects that:

• Increase affordable and accessible transportation choices and equity for individuals, including disadvantaged communities
• Improve access to emergency care, essential services, healthcare providers, or drug and alcohol treatment and rehabilitation centers
• Reduce transportation and housing cost burdens, including through public and private investments to support greater commercial and mixed-income residential development near public transportation, along rural main streets or in walkable neighborhoods
• Increase the walkability and accessibility for pedestrians and encourage thriving communities for individuals to work, live, and play by creating transportation choices for individuals to move freely with or without a car
• Have engaged, or will engage, diverse people and communities and demonstrate that equity considerations and community input and ownership, particularly among disadvantaged communities, are meaningfully integrated into planning, development, and implementation of transportation investments
• Support a local, regional, and/or state Equitable Development Plan
• Address equity or other disparities and barriers to opportunity, through planning, policies, the incorporation of design elements, hiring of underrepresented populations, and other activities

Eligible applicants include:

• States and groups of states
• Regional transportation planning organizations
• Units of local government
• Political subdivisions of a state
• Special purpose districts and public authorities with a transportation function, including port authorities
• Tribal governments
• Consortia of tribal governments
• Federal land management agency that applies jointly with a state or group of states
• Partnership between Amtrak and 1 or more entities described above
• Groups of entities listed above

Estimated total program funding: $780,000,000

Links to the full announcement and online application process are available through grants.gov. The application instructions will be found on the related documents tab.

Frequently asked questions

Rural Road Safety Funding at the US Department of Transportation: Example Projects from 2022