AASHTO Journal - New Jersey DOT Offering $165M in Local Project Aid

The New Jersey Department of Transportation is now accepting applications for $165 million worth of fiscal year 2024 grant funding to support local transportation projects – funds made available through its four major “State Aid” programs.

[Above photo by the New Jersey DOT]

The agency said grant applications for that funding – awarded through its Municipal Aid, Transit Village, Bikeway, and Safe Streets to Transit programs – are due by July 1, with award notifications issued in November.

“[We are] committed to improving local roads and bridges by providing financial assistance, technical expertise and training for municipal and county transportation initiatives,” explained New Jersey DOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti in a statement.

“Municipal Aid grants, along with funds provided through our Transit Village, Bikeway, and Safe Streets to Transit programs, allow our cities and towns to make needed safety and quality-of-life improvements to ensure New Jersey has a modern, efficient, and equitable transportation system without the need to impact local property taxes,” she added.

The agency noted that its grant cycles allow municipalities to incorporate awarded projects into upcoming municipal budgets to speed up construction on important infrastructure projects. The breakdown of that $165 million in grant funding is as follows:

Municipal Aid: Some $151.25 million with an additional $10 million in Urban Aid is available for local transportation projects, with municipalities encouraged to consider projects that support walking and biking safety.
Transit Village: A total of $1 million is available to municipalities designated as “Transit Villages” to fund both traditional and non-traditional transportation projects that enhance walking, biking and/or transit ridership within a half mile of the transit facility.
Bikeways: This $1 million program is intended to fund bicycle projects which create new bike path mileage. This program encourages new bikeways that are physically separated from motorized vehicular traffic by an open space or barrier, but on-road bike lanes and other bike routes and facilities are also eligible for funding.
Safe Streets to Transit: This program encourages counties and municipalities to construct safe and accessible pedestrian linkages to transit facilities to promote transit usage for all. A total of $1 million is available for grant awards.

The New Jersey DOT noted that an additional $21.8 million was provided in the FY 2023 state budget to disperse among the Transit Village, Bikeways, and Safe Streets to Transit programs for a total of $24.8 million – allowing the agency to award not just more grants but more “fully-funded” grants as well.