The Federal Highway Administration published a 22-page Notice of Funding Opportunity in the Federal Register on Oct. 4 to make $300 million available through its Nationally Significant Federal Lands and Tribal Projects or NSFLTP program – with this funding being made available “for the first time” to build and repair roads and bridges that serve tribal or federal lands, according to a statement from the agency.

FHWA said the 2015 Fixing America’s Surface Transportation or FAST Act established the NSFLTP program to provide federal financial assistance for the construction, reconstruction or rehabilitation of transportation projects providing access to or located on federal or tribal lands.

Under the NSFLTP, the agency said the federal share of a project can be up to 90 percent and can be used to improve the condition of a critical transportation facility. Large-scale projects with estimated construction costs of $50 million or more are given priority consideration for selection, but the program will accept projects with estimated construction costs of at least $25 million, noted FHWA’s Deputy Administrator Brandye Hendrickson

“The program prioritizes highways and bridges that access our national treasures and improve the quality of life throughout Indian country,” she said. “The funds will go a long way in making sure that needed improvements to infrastructure serving federal and tribal lands are addressed.”

FHWA added that applications are being accepted on a rolling basis and that federal lands management agencies and tribes can apply directly for grants under the program States and local agencies may also apply, the agency added, but only if sponsored by a federal land management agency or tribe.