AASHTO Journal - FHWA Offers $40M for Tribal Roadway Improvements

The Federal Highway Administration recently made over $40 million available via a revised notice of funding opportunity of NOFO to help tribal governments improve roadways and address transportation safety issues through the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund.

[Above photo via the FHWA]

The Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund was first created by the Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act in 2012, known as MAP-21, and extended in subsequent legislation including the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in 2021. Since its inception, FHWA has awarded approximately $141 million over multiple rounds of competitive grants for more than 1,000 projects – with priority given to projects that incorporate safety into existing infrastructure.

The U.S. Department of Transportation said in a statement that the updated NOFO removes requirements that tied infrastructure funding to social justice and climate initiatives, while also ensuring project selections are merit-based.

FHWA noted that the money being made available via this NOFO should help eligible applicants – some 574 federally recognized tribes – meet their transportation infrastructure priorities and help reduce the risk of serious roadway departures and fatal crashes, particularly for those living and working in Native American and Alaska Native communities.

The agency said projects that qualify for this funding may include measures that keep drivers in their lanes, enable safe recovery along roadsides, and strategies that reduce the severity of crashes.

State departments of transportation also provide support to federally recognized tribes in a variety of ways.

For example, in August, the Georgia Department of Transportation received a plaque honoring its donation of 136 acres of land to Georgia’s Ocmulgee Mounds National Historical Park; one of the state’s most significant cultural and historical sites, according to the agency.

The newly donated acreage lies within the Ocmulgee River corridor and represents land that was historically occupied and stewarded by the Muscogee or Creek people. The property, acquired by Georgia DOT in 1998 for wetland mitigation related to the Fall Line Freeway in Twiggs County, has remained undeveloped, the agency said. That land donation supports the park’s ongoing expansion and efforts to gain designation as Georgia’s first national park and preserve.

Meanwhile, in July, the Wisconsin Department of Transportation helped unveil the latest set of dual-language highway signs for placement on state highways, with those signs identifying Lac du Flambeau’s Tribal boundaries and four lakes in both the Ojibwe and English languages.

And in November 2024, the Idaho Transportation Department joined the Nez Perce Tribe to celebrate the completion of a new interchange at Aht’Wy Plaza on US Highway 95/US Highway 12 near Lewiston; a roadway project that initially began in May 2023.