Funding Programs
Funding Application Materials
Economic Development Programs
Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Program: A program for businesses and industries, railroads, local governments, and economic development agencies that provides loans and/or grants to improve rail facilities that will spur economic development and job growth.
Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy (RISE): A program that provides loans, grants, or a combination thereof for the construction or improvement of a public roadway.
Rail Programs
Federal Railway-Highway Crossing Safety Fund: A program designed to improve the safety of public railway-highway grade crossings, aimed at railroad companies and public road jurisdictions. The program requires a 10% non-federal match.
Iowa Clean Air Attainment Program (ICAAP): This program funds projects that are intended to maximize emission reductions through traffic flow improvements, reduced vehicle miles of travel, and reduced single occupancy vehicle trips.
Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing Program: A program administered by the Federal Railroad Administration that aids railroads with refinancing, line acquisition, track rehabilitation, or development of new intermodal facilities.
Railroad Revolving Loan and Grant Program
State Grade Crossing Surface Repair Fund: This funding program assists in maintaining a safe and smooth crossing surface at highway-rail crossings and pays 60% of the cost of repairs, while the responsible roadway jurisdiction and the railroad company each pay 20%.
Road, Street, and Bridge Programs
County and City Bridge Construction Fund: This program provides funds for the construction or replacement of public roadway bridges that are classified as structurally deficient or functionally obsolete as per federal guidelines.
Highway Bridge Replacement and Rehabilitation: Funds are provided for bridges on public roads. Of the HBRRP funding, 15% must be spent on bridges off the federal-aid system, while 85% can be used to fund any bridge project.
Interstate Maintenance (IM): Funds are available to rehabilitate, restore, and resurface the interstate system, but not to add capacity.
Iowa Clean Air Attainment Program (ICAAP)
Metropolitan Planning Program (PL): Funds are dedicated to transportation planning projects in urbanized areas with more than 50,000 persons.
National Highway System (NHS): Funds may be used to construct or improve National Highway System roadways, including state highways, U.S. highways, and interstates.
Public Lands Highways Discretionary Program: A program aimed at improving access to and within the nation's federal lands.
Reduce Iowa's Diesel Exhaust (RIDE): This Department of Natural Resources (DNR) program helps fund voluntary diesel exhaust reduction programs.
Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy (RISE)
Surface Transportation Program: This program is designed to address specific issues identified by Congress and to continue programs funded under the previous highway bill. Funds may be spent on roadway and bridge projects on federal-air routes; transportation enhancement (TE) projects; transit capital improvements; and planning activities.
Transportation and Community and System Preservation Program: This program provides funds for a comprehensive initiative, including planning grants, implementation grants, and research to investigate and address the relationships between transportation, community, and system preservation and to identify private sector-based initiatives.
Traffic Safety and Engineering Programs
County-State Traffic Engineering Program (C-STEP): A funding program for counties, aimed at solving traffic operation and safety problems on primary roads outside incorporated cities.
High-Risk Rural Roads Program: A federal program to fund safety improvements on rural roads that meet certain safety criteria.
Iowa Traffic Engineering Assistance Program (TEAP): This program grants traffic engineering expertise to local governments to identify cost-effective traffic safety and operational improvements along with potential funding sources to implement the recommendations.
Pedestrian Curb Ramp Construction: A program that assists Iowa cities in complying with the Americans with Disabilities Act on primary roads.
Safe Routes to School Program: This federal program funds projects that increase safety and promote walking and bicycling to school. Infrastructure and non-infrastructure projects are eligible for funding through a competitive process.
Traffic Safety Improvement Program: This program distributes traffic safety funds for roadway safety improvements, research, studies, or public information initiatives.
Urban-State Traffic Engineering Program (U-STEP): This program provides funds to solve traffic operation and safety problems along a municipal extension of a primary road.
Trails, Enhancement, and Youth Programs
DOT/DNR Fund: This program provides funds for roadside beautification on primary system corridors with plant materials.
Iowa Clean Air Attainment Program
Keep Iowa Beautiful Program: This program provides funding to public or private non-profit organizations for litter removal; litter prevention/education/public awareness; beautification, waste management or recycling; illegal dumping abatement; or public nuisance abatement.
Living Roadway Trust Fund: This program helps implement Integrated Roadside Vegetation Management programs (IRVM) on rights-of-way or publicly owned areas adjacent to roads.
National Scenic Byway Program: This program provides local byway groups funds for eligible projects associated with a state or nationally designated Scenic Byway.
Recreational Trails Program (Federal & State): This program provides funding for both motorized and non-motorized trail projects.
Resource Enhancement and Protection (REAP): This Department of Natural Resources (DNR) program provides funding for DNR open space, city parks and open space, soil and water enhancement, county conservation, DNR land management, historical resources, and roadside vegetation.
Safe Routes to School Program
State Scenic Byway Program: This program designates Iowa roadways that exemplify the state's scenic and historic resources. This effort is carried out by volunteers and through cooperation between interested citizens, organizations, local governments, and the Department of Transportation.
Urban Youth Corps Program: This program provides transportation-related employment and training opportunities to youth ages 16-21 who face barriers to employment. It allows them to make meaningful and productive improvements to transportation facilities.
Transit Programs
Iowa Clean Air Attainment Program (ICAAP)
Urbanized Area Formula Program (Section 5307): Transit operating, planning, and capital assistance funds are allocated directly to local recipients in urbanized areas with populations between 50,000 and 200,000, based upon population and density figures.
Capital Grants Program (Section 5309): A program that provides federal assistance for major capital needs, such as fleet replacement and construction of transit facilities.
Special Needs Transportation Program (Section 5310): Funding is provided to increase the mobility of the elderly and persons with disabilities.
Non-Urbanized Area Formula Program (Section 5311): This program provides capital and operating assistance fro rural and small urban transit systems. Fifteen percent of these funds are allocated to intercity bus projects.
Intercity Bus Assistance (Section 5311(f)): This program provides funds for existing intercity bus routes that connect Iowa to the rest of the country; new feeder routes that will provide smaller communities access to existing intercity routes; marketing for new or existing routes; and providers' efforts to upgrade equipment and facilities to become compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act.
Job Access and Reverse Commute (Section 5316): This program provides funding for transportation services in urban, suburban, and rural areas to assist welfare recipients and low income individuals with access to employment opportunities and to increase collaboration between transportation providers, human service agencies, employers, metropolitan planning organizations, and affected communities and individuals.
New Freedom (Section 5317): This program encourages services and facility improvements to address the transportation needs of persons with disabilities that go beyond those required by the Americans with Disabilities Act.
State Transit Assistance (STA): All public transit systems are eligible for funding. These funds can be used by the public transit system for operating, capital, or planning expenses related to the provision of open to the public passenger transportation.
Surface Transportation Program (STP)
