Maryland Department of Transportation

Federal Grant Information 

Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) Competitive Grants

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) (Public Law No: 117-58), also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), signed into law on November 15, 2021, is a $1.2 trillion investment in our nation’s infrastructure intended to rebuild America’s roads, bridges and rails, upgrade and expand public transit, modernize the nation’s ports and airports, improve safety, address the climate crisis, advance environmental justice, and invest in communities that have too often been left behind.

The BIL includes five-year reauthorization (FY22-26) of surface transportation programs and direct advanced appropriations. Total transportation funding in this five-year package is over $660 billion. As of November 2022, over $2.6 billion in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding has been announced and is headed to Maryland with over 35 specific projects identified for funding. Maryland is set to receive over $2.2 billion for transportation to invest in roads, bridges, public transit, ports and airports.

In order to provide stakeholders with more visibility into upcoming federal opportunities, MDOT is publishing a list of IIJA grants. This list is not comprehensive and will be updated periodically with new programs and dates. New programs are at varies stages of development. A Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is released by a federal agency to announce program specific funding availability. Applicants should consult program-specific guidance in the NOFO.

How Can a You Prepare for IIJA Opportunities?

IIJA creates new competitive grants and expands existing programs. Each will have specific selection criteria, eligibility, and geographic distribution requirements. Grant opportunities are offered annually and can be awarded on a one-time basis over one year or for a project over multiple years These grants are unique to each round of funding authorization.

It is important to identify priorities and key projects for your community, transportation or otherwise. Determine how additional grant funding can help achieve your goals and explore the wide range of available grants to determine which align with your priorities and aspirations.

Review the IIJA Guidebook to identify potential grant avenues to pursue. When you have found a grant that you wish to apply for, evaluate your internal capacity to apply and your ability to manage projects when successful identifying key staff and available resources will help make the most of your effort. Finally, pursue partnerships; collaboration is essential and MDOT is here to help. Every Competitive Grant program is unique. Look to your priorities and tailor each application to match the policy intent, desired outcomes, and specific requirements.

MDOT has recently updated its Federal Discretionary Grants Map Application.
View it in full screen here or interact with it directly below:

Open Federal Discretionary Grants

Other Federal Discretionary Grants

How can Maryland DOT help?

We can work with you on state projects if they are your local priorities, partner when feasible, provide a state match if state priority, give technical support, and other assistance.

If you are representing a local entity and interested in receiving a letter of support from MDOT for current or anticipated project, please fill out this request. We will need at least (two) full weeks upon receiving the information to route for signature.

Factors for Success:

The strongest applications will have a thorough understanding of grant requirements, including deadlines, eligible costs, the application process, overall intent, duration of grant funding, design and environmental review requirements, and local funding match requirements.

This includes a solid understanding of the grant itself, and how it pertains to one of the key focus areas for transportation under this legislation (Safety, Modernization, Climate, and Equity). Make your strongest argument possible, backed up by clear information, sound data, and broad community support at all governing and geographic levels with letters of support from partners. Additional factors to take into consideration are:

  • Most grant programs involve a match or “cost share” meaning that a portion of the project’s cost must be met with non-federal sources. The required match percentage, sources of match, and other requirements vary from program to program.
  • The Build America Bureau, responsible for supporting transportation infrastructure development projects and offers several programs to provide project finance assistance to State, local, and private project sponsors. These are customizable credit instruments that reduce project costs and increase flexibility.
  • Identify possible partnerships early in the application process. Partnering with local or state entities can increase the knowledge and resources available to enhance grant applications, ultimately giving proposals a more competitive edge.
  • Encourage letters of support from state or local entities. A letter can be a valuable tool to support your grant application that helps the awarding agency determine if the proposal is worthy of funding.
  • In alignment with the Biden Administration’s Justice40 Initiative, these grants will prioritize and allocate at least 40% of the benefits from federal investments to disadvantaged communities.
  • Be aware of Build America, Buy America which requires the use of materials produced in the United States, increase the requirement for American-made content, and strengthens the waiver process associated with Buy American provisions.
  • All federal US DOT grant applications must be submitted through the Grants.gov portal. Registering is a one-time process; however, processing delays may occur, and it can take up to several weeks for first-time registrants to receive confirmation and a user password. Start the registration process as early as possible.
    • All applicants must have a Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) as generated by www.SAM.gov to apply for a federal grant. Note that this can take a few weeks to process

Resources:

Each Competitive Grant is listed in the Building a Better America A Guidebook to the BIL. Please visit for more information about eligibility, funding dates, and program specifics. Similarly, there is an accompanying data file on Build.gov that allows users to quickly sort programs funded under the law by fields like agency, amount, eligible recipient, or program name.

For more information on specific grant funding opportunities and program details, please visit the following pages:

Webinars

Newsletters

Interactive Map

MDOT has recently updated its own Federal Discretionary Grants Interactive Map Application:
Federal Discretionary Grants Interactive Map Application