Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Resources Guide

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The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides once-in-a-generation, transformational investment: The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL; P.L. 117-58), enacted on November 15, 2021, is making higher levels of investment in our nation’s infrastructure, benefiting a greater number of communities, and expanding the reach of federal transportation funds to more grant recipients than ever before.

Record levels of support are reaching states, counties, and cities: The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) is ensuring $661 billion of the BIL dedicated for roads, bridges, transit systems, railroads, ports, and airports is reaching states, local governments, transit agencies, planning organizations, airports, ports, and passenger and freight railroads quickly. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is rapidly getting $13 billion into the hands of communities to upgrade clean water infrastructure.

• As of January 2023, DOT announced nearly $200 billion in BIL funds to states and local governments.
• In the first year of implementation, BIL competitive grants directly funded 6,900 projects reaching over 4,000 communities, while states have initiated more than 29,000 new projects with BIL highway formula dollars.
• The BIL also provides unprecedented levels of support to local and tribal governments through technical assistance so that smaller communities who are new to accessing federal funds can share in the benefits.
• BIL dollars are helping communities build a better America: Congressional Democrats set clear priorities during BIL consideration for what infrastructure funds must deliver: address climate change and reduce carbon pollution, combat historic inequities in transportation investments, and improve roadway safety, especially for vulnerable road users. The administration is implementing the BIL to meet these goals.

Projects completed with BIL funds––selected by state and local public entities, not the federal government––are bolstering the economy and quality of life in the communities they serve, enhancing mobility, and supporting cleaner, greener, safer and more equitable infrastructure systems.

Transportation equals jobs: The BIL creates good jobs through its infrastructure investments, which have significant positive economic impacts. The BIL also specifically invests in the transportation workforce needed to upgrade to our highway, bridge, transit, cycling and pedestrian, rail, port, airport, and water systems.

What's available under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law?

Funding

• The DOT funding dashboard provides the best one-stop shop to understand the $661 billion in transportation funding under the BIL. Organized by mode, the interactive dashboard provides an overview of programs and annual funding available.
• Detailed BIL landing pages for each of the DOT modal administrations are also available:
  • $365 billion for highway programs—Federal Highway Administration (FHWA);
  • $108 billion for transit programs—Federal Transit Administration (FTA);
  • $102 billion for rail programs—Federal Railroad Administration (FRA);
  • $43 billion for multimodal project, safety, and innovation grant programs—Office of the Secretary (OST);
  • $25 billion for aviation programs—Federal Aviation Administration (FAA);
  • $8 billion for safety programs—National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA);
  • $5 billion for motor carrier safety programs—Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA);
  • $2.3 billion for port and waterway programs—Maritime Administration (MARAD); and
  • $1 billion for modernization of natural gas distribution pipelines—Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
• The EPA landing page for the BIL provides overview information for EPA programs under the law, including clean water, pollution clean up and prevention, and clean school buses. More details on water infrastructure funding can be found here and here. More information on grant funding to help remediate community brownfields can be found here and here.

Grant Opportunities

• A list of all DOT BIL grant opportunities can be found here.
• The Guidebook to the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law details each of the more than 375 programs under the BIL. At 459 pages, the guide is probably most useful to locate details on a particular grant or funding opportunity or to see which grants are eligible to fund a particular category of projects (e.g., surface transportation safety).
• In FY 2023 alone, $32 billion is available under the BIL for competitive grants. DOT publishes anticipated dates for BIL upcoming Notices of Funding Opportunity for competitive grants. The White House also puts out a list of all open and upcoming BIL funding opportunities.

Guides and Playbooks

• The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Tribal Playbook details the $13 billion available in funding to directly support Tribal communities, including how and when to apply for funds.
• The Rural Playbook is designed to help rural communities navigate and access BIL funding, including specific set-asides for rural areas.
• Advancing Equitable Workforce Development for Infrastructure Jobs details the more than $800 million in dedicated BIL funding for workforce development as well as other federal funding sources available to support workforce initiatives.

What is the BIL delivering for California and our Congressional District?

• White House state-by-state fact sheets of BIL benefits can be found here (updated as of February 2023). 
• DOT also issued state-by-state fact sheets on formula dollars provided under the BIL.
• The White House has produced a summary map detailing, by state, the $185 billion in BIL funding announced as of January 2023.
• This interactive map of BIL projects provides more granular detail on locations of over 20,000 projects that received formula funds or competitive grant awards.
• The American Road & Transportation Builders Association (ARTBA) compiles and regularly updates a highway dashboard that shows BIL highway and bridge dollars at work. This website lists every project that has advanced with the $303.5 billion in BIL highway formula funds and is updated monthly. Data is organized in a clickable map by state and can also be pulled up by specific Congressional District.

How can I get more assistance?

• USDOT Navigator is a one-stop shop for technical assistance resources that are available through DOT to “help communities understand the best ways to apply for grants, and to plan for and deliver transformative infrastructure projects and services.” This site provides a wealth of resources for experienced and new grant applicants seeking to secure BIL and other DOT discretionary grant funding. A sample of topics include:
  • USDOT Discretionary Grant Process: What’s the process to apply for federal grants?
  • How to Navigate Grants.gov to Submit Applications
  • Discretionary Grant Preparation Checklist for Prospective Applicants (for FY 2023)
  • Maximizing Award Success: tips on how to writing a grant application to maximize chances of securing a grant and understand how DOT uses evaluation criteria to select applications.
  • Non-Federal Match Requirements: Understanding whether and at what level local funds are required for projects that receive DOT funding.
  • Tools to Determine Disadvantaged Community Status: How to determine whether a community meets “disadvantaged community status” for certain DOT grants.
  • Is Federal Funding the Right Fit for My Organization: Provides a list of considerations prior to applying, and potential partnership opportunities with eligible entities if an organization can’t access federal funds on its own.
• The BIL Technical Assistance Guide by the White House details how communities can apply for direct technical assistance funds (money designed to help these communities build capacity to carry out infrastructure projects). The BIL provides at least $700 million in dedicated funding across more than 65 initiatives, focused on helping communities apply for and deploy federal infrastructure funding. The guide is organized by topic area (transportation, broadband, water, energy etc.) with links to specific technical assistance grants.
• The Federal Highway Administration, which carries out $365 billion in total funding under BIL, has its own support page to provide technical assistance to local agencies for planning, design, preservation and construction of public roads and in the stewardship of federal funds.
• The Federal Railroad Administration, which for the first time in history has grant funding certainty for five years under the BIL, has its own landing page to provide updates on its corridor development planning and capital grant funding opportunities.