Program Overview

The Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects Program (NSFLTP) of The Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act (FAST Act) (Pub. L. 114-94, section 1123), provides funding for the construction, reconstruction, and rehabilitation of nationally significant projects within, adjacent to, or accessing Federal and Tribal lands. This Program provides an opportunity to address significant challenges across the nation for transportation facilities that serve Federal and Tribal lands.

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (Pub. L. 117-58, also known as the “Bipartisan Infrastructure Law” (BIL)) modified the NSFLTP Program in several ways, such as:

• Reducing minimum project sizes from $25 million to $12.5 million;
• Requiring exactly half of the funding go to projects on Tribal transportation facilities;
• Increasing the Federal share of projects on Tribal transportation facilities to 100 percent;
• Allowing Federal funds, including those made available under Titles 23 and 49 of the United States Code (U.S.C.), to serve as the non-Federal share of the project and
• Requiring the funding of at least one eligible project submitted by the National Park Service for a unit of the National Park System with 3,000,000 annual visitors or more.

Who is eligible to apply?

Eligible entities for the NSFLTP are:

Per the FAST Act, Section 1123(b), entities eligible to receive funds under the Federal Lands Access Program (23 U.S.C. § 204), the Federal Lands Transportation Program (23 U.S.C. § 203), the Tribal Transportation Program (23 U.S.C. § 202), and the Federal Lands Planning Program (323 U.S.C. § 201) may apply for funding under the NSFLTP Program. 

A State, county, or unit of local government may apply for funding under the NSFLTP Program only if sponsored by an eligible Federal Land Management Agency (FLMA) or federally recognized Tribe.

What kinds of projects are eligible?

To meet the minimum statutory requirements for eligibility, a project must meet all the following conditions:

• The project is a single continuous project;
• The project meets the Federal lands transportation facility, Federal lands access transportation facility, and/or Tribal transportation facility definitions per 23 U.S.C. § 101, except that such facilities are not required to be included in an inventory described in 23 U.S.C. § 202 or 23 U.S.C. § 203;
• The project demonstrates completion of all activities required under the National Environmental Policy Act of 1969 (NEPA) (42 U.S.C. § 4321 et seq.);
• Based on the results of preliminary engineering, the project must have estimated construction costs equal to or greater than $12,500,000; and
• The project will use NSFLTP Program funds only for construction, reconstruction, or rehabilitation of transportation facilities.  Project design activities are not eligible for NSFLTP Program funds or allowable toward matching requirements. 

Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO)

Fiscal Year 2024-2026 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for NSFLTP

Webinars

FHWA hosted two webinars to assist applicants with applying to the FY24 NSFLTP NOFO:

September 4, 2024, 10:00 AM – 11:30 AM (EST)

September 10, 2024, 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM (EST)

FY24 NSFLTP NOFO Webinar Slides