Tell the FHWA to Change the FY 22 Byways Grant Application Process

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ACT NOW: Tell the FHWA that the Scenic Byways Grant Application Process Needs Critical Changes

On March 16, the Federal Highway Administration released its Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the National Scenic Byways Program, making grant funding available to state DOTs for scenic byways projects for the first time in ten years.

While the funding is welcome news, the application process is fraught with challenges:

The application deadline is too short. Letters of Intent are due April 11 and full applications are due May 16. This simply isn't enough time for state DOT byways coordinators to compile the applications, particularly as many of them were not in their current roles ten years ago during the last grant cycle.
Changes were made to the program without stakeholder engagement. The grant program now favors applications of $500,000 or more. When the last funding was in 2012, only 25 of the 125 grants awarded were for applications this large.
The application platform requires time to set up and isn't accessible to all partners. Grants.gov, the platform that applicants will use to submit their proposals, requires additional time and training. Non-government entities contributing to byways applications have limited access to this platform, placing additional burdens on state DOT byways coordinators.

Tell the FHWA that these issues need to be addressed.

Limitations like this will discourage participation in this program, particularly for byways in the rural areas where this funding is most urgently needed.

The published deadline for Letters of Intent (April 11) and final applications (May 16) are fast approaching. FHWA officials need to hear from you NOW that these deadlines and parameters need to change.

Fill out this form to send a message to the FHWA so that roadways in your state don't miss out on this funding due to administrative oversights.

You can also personalize your letter for even more impact.

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FHWA Byways Contact

Subject: FY 22 NOFO for Scenic Byways Requires Critical Changes

Message:

I am writing to you to request that you make critically needed changes to the FY 22 NOFO for the National Scenic Byways Program released on March 16, 2022. Specifically, I request that you extend the grant application deadline to July 18, 2022, and remove the preferential treatment for large projects of $500,000 or more. The timeframe outlined does not provide states and federally recognized tribes sufficient time to adequately submit a Letter of Intent after a 10-year hiatus in funding for the program. This short deadline will disproportionately impact the rural, suburban, and economically distressed areas that the program seeks to serve. Very few of the state DOT byways coordinators were in their current positions ten years ago, the last time grants were awarded. The deadline for applications should be extended to encourage broader participation. In addition, neither state DOT byway coordinators nor local byway leaders received any advance notice from FHWA that the program was fundamentally changing to give preferential treatment to large applications of $500,000 or more. Despite monthly calls held by FHWA, no information was provided nor was any outreach conducted on how to best kick-start the new funding. In the last year that funding was provided, only 25 of 125 grants were for applications of $500,000 or more. The use of Grants.gov increases the accessibility of the program, but it did not exist ten years ago. Stakeholders have never used this platform, and FHWA even states in the NOFO that "the Grants.gov registration process usually takes 2 to 4 weeks." It is expected that state DOT byway coordinators will invite their various byway leaders to participate in the Grants.gov workspace but coordinating for the first time ever will take significant work. Some state DOTs will not authorize non-government byway leaders to access their workspaces, further adding to the workload of state DOT byway coordinators. We appreciate your consideration and ask that you take action to ensure that this funding opportunity is equitable and accessible for all of the byways partners.

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