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Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Program - FY 2022

Agency: U.S. Department of Transportation
CFDA: 20.327
Federal FON: FR-RCE-22-001
Office: Federal Railroad Administration (FRA)
Multipart Grant: No
Next Due: 10/11/2022 (Application)
Solicitation Date: 07/06/2022
   
Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: $573,264,000 (Confirmed)
Summary:

The purpose of this program is to support highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects that focus on improving the safety and mobility of people and goods. Awards will be provided to improve rail infrastructure to enhance rail safety, improve the health and safety of communities, eliminate highway-rail and pathway-rail grade crossings that are frequently blocked by trains, and reduce the impacts that freight movement and railroad operations may have on underserved communities.

Funding will be provided for projects that improve safety, economic strength and global competitiveness, equity, and climate and sustainability. The funding agency has a strong interest in promoting grade separations, closing crossings through track relocation, and corridor-wide grade crossing improvements that maximize the safety and efficiency of the U.S. rail network.

In addition to improving safety, the funding agency seeks to support projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and are designed with specific elements to address climate change impacts. Specifically, the agency is looking to award projects that align with the president’s greenhouse gas reduction goals, promote energy efficiency, support fiscally responsible land use and efficient transportation design, increase climate resilience, support domestic manufacturing, and reduce pollution.

The following highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects that focus on improving the safety and mobility of people and goods are eligible:

  • Grade separation or closure, including through the use of a bridge, embankment, tunnel, or combination thereof
  • Track relocation
  • The improvement or installation of protective devices, signals, signs, or other measures that improve safety, provided that such activities are related to a separation or relocation project
  • Other means to improve the safety and mobility of people and goods at highway-rail grade crossings, including technological solutions
  • A group of related projects described above that would collectively improve the mobility of people and goods
  • The planning, environmental review, and design of an eligible project described above

Support will also be provided for projects that address environmental justice, particularly for communities that disproportionally experience climate change-related consequences. The funding agency seeks to fund projects that, to the extent possible, target at least 40 percent of resources and benefits toward low-income communities, disadvantaged communities, communities underserved by affordable transportation, or overburdened communities. Additionally, support will be provided for projects that proactively address racial equity and barriers to opportunity, including automobile dependence, as a form of barrier, or redress prior inequities and barriers to opportunity.

In addition to prioritizing projects that address climate change, proactively address racial equity, and reduce barriers to opportunity, the funding agency intends to support the creation of good-paying jobs with the free and fair choice to join a union and the incorporation of strong labor standards and training and placement programs, especially registered apprenticeships and Local Hire agreements, in project planning stages. Projects that incorporate such planning considerations are expected to support a strong economy and labor market.

An optional webinar and optional office hours are scheduled for this program. Refer to the Application section for details.

Last Updated: June 15, 2023

Eligibility Notes:

Eligible applicants are:

  • States, including the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and other U.S. territories and possessions
  • Political subdivisions of a state
  • Federally recognized Indian tribes
  • Units of local government or groups of local governments
  • Public port authorities
  • Metropolitan planning organizations
  • Groups of eligible entities

Applicants may propose a particular project to one or more financial assistance programs related to transportation infrastructure offered by the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) or the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA), in which case applicants must indicate in the application for this program the other program(s) to which they applied for the entire project or certain project components.

An applicant’s past performance in developing and delivering similar projects will be considered during the evaluation.

FY 2022 award recipients include:

  • Los Angeles County (CA)
  • Colorado Department of Transportation (CO)
  • Broward Metropolitan Planning Organization (FL)
  • Town of Schererville (IN)
  • City of Bend (OR)

Refer to the Award file for additional information regarding FY 2022 award recipients.

Eligible Applicants:
Local Government
Consortia
Native American Tribe
State Government
Application Notes:

Applications must be submitted by 5:00 p.m. ET on October 4, 2022.

The due date for the application has been extended to October 11, 2022. Additional information is included in the DueDateExt file.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov. For supporting materials that are unable to be submitted online, such as oversized engineering drawings, applicants may deliver an original application and two copies to the address provided in the Contact section according to the instructions provided on page 1 of the NOFA file.

Applications must include:

  • SF 424
  • SF 424A or SF 424C (as applicable)
  • SF 424B or SF 424D (as applicable)
  • SF LLL (if applicable)
  • Project narrative:
    • Cover page
    • Project summary
    • Project funding
    • Applicant eligibility
    • Detailed project description
    • Project location
    • Grade crossing information
    • Evaluation and selection criteria
    • Safety benefit
    • Project implementation and management
    • Environmental readiness
  • Statement of work
  • Environmental compliance documentation
  • Certifications
  • Financial capability questionnaire
  • Budget
  • Performance measures
  • Schedule

The project narrative is limited to 25 pages max, excluding cover pages, table of contents, and supporting documentation. If possible, applicants should submit supporting documents via website links rather than hard copies. Application materials must be submitted in the acceptable formats detailed on page 8 of the NOFA file.

The following are required in order to submit an application:

  • Unique Entity Identifier (UEI) number
  • SAM (System for Award Management) registration
  • SPOC (state Single Point of Contact) notification

Applicants may obtain a UEI number and verify or renew SAM registration status at www.ecivis.com/sam. Applicants in states participating in the SPOC program must contact the relevant SPOC listed in the SPOC file before applying.

An optional webinar is scheduled for this program as follows:

July 14, 2022
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m. ET
Registration: events-na13.adobeconnect.com

In addition, optional office hours webinar sessions are scheduled for this program as follows:

Overview of Best Practices for Creating a Project Narrative:
August 11, 2022
2:00 p.m. ET
Registration: usdot.zoomgov.com

Project and Applicant Eligibility, Project Type, and Lifecycle:
August 18, 2022
2:00 p.m. ET
Registration: usdot.zoomgov.com

Statement of Work:
August 25, 2022
2:00 p.m. ET
Registration: usdot.zoomgov.com

National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Environmental Considerations:
September 1, 2022
2:00 p.m. ET
Registration: usdot.zoomgov.com

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) Nuts and Bolts:
September 8, 2022
2:00 p.m. ET
Registration: usdot.zoomgov.com

Applications will be evaluated according to the following project benefits criteria:

  • Improves safety at highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossings
  • Proposes to grade separate, eliminate, or close one or more highway-rail or pathway-rail grade crossings
  • Improves the mobility of both people and goods
  • Reduces emissions, protects the environment, and provides community benefit, including noise reduction
  • Improves access to emergency services
  • Improves access to communities
  • Provides economic benefit
  • Uses contracting incentives to employ local labor to the extent permissible under federal law

The evaluation will also consider the technical merit and selection criteria detailed on page 9 of the NOFA file.

Refer to the NOFA and WebinarSeriesSchedule files and Application folder for additional application information.

Match Required: Yes
Match Type: Cash/In-Kind
Actual Funds: $573,264,000 (Confirmed)
Match Notes:

Applicants must provide at least 20 percent of the project cost via nonfederal public sector funding, such as state or local funding, private sector funding, and in-kind contributions, including the donation of services, materials, and equipment.

In addition, applicants may count costs incurred no earlier than November 15, 2021, for preliminary engineering associated with highway-rail grade crossing and pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects as part of the nonfederal share, even if they were incurred before award selection.

Additionally, projects may require more funding than is available, and the funding agency encourages applicants to propose a project that has operational independence, or a component of such project, that can be completed and implemented with award funding as a part of the total project cost together with other, nonfederal sources.

Award recipients are expected to expend matching funds at the required percentage concurrent with federal funds throughout the life of the project.

Nonfederal funds already expended or otherwise encumbered may not be used as match.

Funding Notes:

A total of $573,264,000 is available to support grants and/or cooperative agreements through this program. A portion of the total available funding will be set aside, as follows:

  • At least $18 million will be set aside for planning projects, with at least $4.5 million of this amount made available for projects located in rural areas or on tribal lands
  • At least $114,652,800 will be set aside for projects located in rural areas or on tribal lands, with at least $5,732,640 made available for projects in counties with 20 or fewer residents per square mile according to the most recent decennial census
  • At least $1.5 million will be set aside for highway-rail grade crossing safety information and education projects

The minimum award amount is $1 million, except for planning projects. There are no predetermined maximum award amounts; however, no more than $114,652,800 will be awarded for projects in any single state.

Awards will be provided on a reimbursement basis.

Costs incurred no earlier than November 15, 2021, for preliminary engineering associated with highway-rail grade crossing and pathway-rail grade crossing improvement projects may be reimbursed, even if they were incurred before award selection.

For FY 2022, more than $570 million was distributed via 63 awards ranging from $60,000 to $41,766,038 through this program. Refer to the Award file for details.

Contacts:

Douglas Gascon
(202) 493-0239
douglas.gascon@dot.gov

Delivery Address
Mr. Douglas Gascon
Office of Policy and Planning
Federal Railroad Administration
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Room W38-212
Washington, D.C. 20590

Contact Notes:

Questions should be directed to Douglas Gascon.

Applications must be submitted online at www.ecivis.com/grants.gov. For supporting materials that are unable to be submitted online, applicants may deliver these items to the address provided according to the instructions provided on page 8 of the NOFA file.

Files:
NOFA File: US17717_NOFA_FY2022.pdf (256.0 Kb)
Guide File: US17717_Guide_FY2022.pdf (412.2 Kb)
Application File: US17717_Application_FY2022.zip (94.4 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17717_Overview_FY2022.pdf (214.9 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17717_FactSheet_FY2022.pdf (204.8 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17717_FinancialQuestionnaire_FY2022.pdf (320.0 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17717_OfficeHours_FY2022.pdf (198.6 Kb)
Other Pre-Award File: US17717_DueDateExt_FY2022.pdf (173.2 Kb)
Award File: US17717_Award_FY2022.pdf (359.6 Kb)
Federal Forms:
SPOC (195.6 Kb)
File Notes:

The NOFA file contains the full solicitation for this program. The Guide file contains detailed application instructions and additional program information. The Application folder contains the required forms for submission. The Overview file contains additional program and webinar information. The FactSheet file contains general program information. The FinancialQuestionnaire file contains the required financial capability questionnaire for the application. The OfficeHours file contains information regarding optional office hours scheduled for this program. The DueDateExt file contains the updated due date for the application. The Award file contains information on FY 2022 award recipients.The SPOC file contains information on the state Single Point of Contact program.

June 15, 2023
Information regarding awards through this program has been released and appended to the Award file. A brief summary of the awards has been added to the Financial section, and a sample of award recipients has been added to the Eligibility section.

September 22, 2022
An announcement concerning the changing of the due date for the application has been released and attached as the DueDateExt file. The Application section has been updated accordingly.

August 8, 2022
Information regarding optional office hours scheduled for this program has been released and attached as the OfficeHours file. The Application section has been updated accordingly.

July 14, 2022
The required financial capability questionnaire form for the application has been released and attached as the FinancialQuestionnaire file.

July 6, 2022
Full solicitation information for this program has been released and uploaded as the NOFA file. All sections have been updated accordingly.

Grant Keywords
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Grant Categories
Community Development
Economic Development
Energy
Environment/Natural Resources
Human Services
Transportation