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Last updated: July 21, 2009
The American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) of 2009 includes Transportation Enhancements (TE). Of $27.5 billion made available to the the Federal Highway Administration by the Act, 3% of the total (after some other allocations), or approximately $800 million, is set aside for TE. This figure is roughly equivalent to the amount apportioned to the states each year for TE under SAFETEA-LU. This page will serve as an information resource concerning the provisions for TE in the stimulus package. As details and guidance from FHWA become available, this page will be updated with information relating to TE.
Provisions of the bill
► The federal share of a project may be up to 100% of the cost of the project. However, states have discretion to pose additional requirements.
► States had until June 30, 2009 to obligate at least 50% of their statewide highway funds and TE funds combined. After that deadline, any unobligated funds from this initial 50% would have been withdrawn and redistributed to those states who had sucessfully obligated at least 50% of their combined funds. However, all 50 states and the District of Columbia were able to meet the obligation target by the deadline, so no withdrawal occurred. The withdrawal would have affected TE funds and highways funds proportionately based on how much of each was obligated. Thus, if 50% of the TE set-aside had been obligated, there would have been no withdrawal of TE funds even if the total obligation (statewide highway funds + TE funds) did not meet the target of 50% of the total allocation. There was also withdrawal when enough highway funds were obligated to meet the target, even if no TE funds were obligated yet. The FHWA issued guidance on the withdrawal process, including numerical examples showing the impact of withdrawals on TE.
► One year after the apportionment, all unobligated funds will be withdrawn and redistributed to states that have obligated 100% of their funds.
► Updated Past FHWA Guidance stated that redistributed funds would not be subject to a mandatory TE set-aside. However, the published Guidance on the 120-day withdrawal states that redistributed TE funds will retain their TE character (Source: Last question on this page). It is unclear if this Guidance applies to the one-year withdrawal.
► Projects that can be completed within 3 years and are located in economically distressed areas have priority. State highway agencies have discretion in determining what constitutes an "economically distressed area" in order to implement this provision.
► Funding is not subject to obligation limitations.
The TE set-aside is not the only source for alternative transportation project funding in the ARRA. The Department of Energy has initiated a block grant program that states, cities, counties, and Tribes can apply for. Eligible projects for this program include development of infrastructure such as bike lanes and pathways and pedestrian walkways; synchronization of traffic signals; state/local/regional integrated planning activities (i.e. transportation, housing, environmental, energy, land use) with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions and vehicle miles traveled; incentive programs to reduce commutes by single occupancy vehicles; and more (search for ref # DE-FOA-0000013).
Updated Known TE Stimulus Projects
Additional Links
Frequently Asked Questions about ARRA
FHWA ARRA page
Recovery Accountability and Transparency Board
Searchable text of the ARRA from the Library of Congress
Documents
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