USDOT issues NOFO for third round of Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program funding

The U.S. Department of Transportation has issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for the third round of the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) Program, with the Fiscal Year (FY) 2024 NOFO containing FY 24-26 funding of more than $600 million available for both capital construction and community planning grants.  

The RCP Program reconnects communities that are cut off from opportunity and burdened by past transportation infrastructure decisions. In 2023, the RCP Program was combined with the Neighborhood Access and Equity (NAE) program for a combined $3.3 billion in funding that supported projects in 130 communities. To date, 176 communities have benefited from RCP and NAE funding.  

“Through President Biden’s infrastructure law, we’re addressing infrastructure choices of the past and making sure that our transportation investments serve to connect, rather than divide, people and communities across the country,” said USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This funding will support projects that bring people closer to jobs, schools, housing, places of worship and one another.”    

USDOT says that even with last 2023’s one-time infusion of funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, the program was oversubscribed and highly competitive.  

The RCP program is covered under the Justice40 Initiative, which sets the goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.  

The deadline for applications for the NOFO is 11:59 p.m. on Sept. 30, 2024. More information can be found on USDOT’s website.