§177 Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program

Summary

Provides federal money for new transportation grants in fiscal year 2022. Congress set aside $1,893,000,000, available until September 30, 2026, for competitive grants from the Federal Highway Administration. The grants can pay to make streets and transit safer and easier to use. Projects can remove, reuse, replace, cap, or slow down high-speed or separated roads that cut communities off. Grants can also build complete streets, trails, greenways, and improve access to jobs, services, and transit. In disadvantaged or underserved areas, money can pay for noise barriers, pollution and stormwater fixes, heat-reduction features, and safety for walkers and cyclists. Grants can also fund planning, air-quality or heat monitoring, anti-displacement policies, community benefit agreements, predevelopment work, public engagement, and technical help. Another $1,262,000,000 was set aside for projects in economically disadvantaged or persistent-poverty places, with the same rules and availability through September 30, 2026. Eligible applicants include states, local governments and their subdivisions, U.S. territories, metropolitan planning organizations, special transportation districts or authorities, certain federal entities named in the law, and nonprofits or colleges when they partner with an eligible government for planning grants. A separate $50,000,000 is for technical assistance and local capacity building. Federal funds can cover up to 80% of a project, or up to 100% for projects in disadvantaged or underserved communities. Projects count as Federal‑aid highway projects and must follow required federal business and contracting rules. Funds cannot be used to add extra through lanes for single-occupant cars.