Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division

22001 Loudoun County Parkway

Building E2, Suite 200

Ashburn, VA 20147

Phone 703-404-6201

Fax 703-404-6217

In Reply Refer to: HFPP-15

Federal Land Management Agencies

Department of Transportation

Regional, County & Local Governments

Tribal Governments

March 14, 2022

Eastern Federal Lands Access Program Call for Projects Alert- Illinois

Greetings:

The Eastern Federal Lands Highway Division (EFLHD) of the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) will

be accepting Federal Lands Access Program (FLAP) applications in order to develop a multi-year program of

projects for Federal Fiscal Years (FY) 2023 through FY 2026. All final project approvals will be contingent

upon the availability of funds in the year for which they are being requested.

The Call for Projects application period opens May 1, 2022 and runs through August 1, 2022. Please

explore our FLAP website located at https://highways.dot.gov/federal-lands/programs-access and follow 

the links to the state webpage to download the application, review the state’s associated scoring criteria, 

FAQ’s and tips for preparing a good application. Applications should be submitted via email to

EFL.planning@dot.gov by the end of the day (11:59 PM) on August 1, 2022 to be considered. If

required, applications via mail, Fedex, UPS etc. or fax will also be accepted.

An estimated total of $1.6M will be available for programming in your State.

What is the purpose of the Federal Lands Access Program?

The purpose of the FLAP is to provide safe and adequate transportation access to and through Federal Lands for

visitors, recreationists, and resource users. The FLAP supplements State and local resources for public roads,

transit systems, and other transportation facilities, with an emphasis on high-use recreation sites and economic

generators.

Where can projects be located?

Proposed projects or studies must be associated with a public highway, road, bridge, trail or transit system that

is located on, is adjacent to, or provides access to Federal lands for which the transportation facility’s title or

maintenance responsibility is vested with a State, county, city, township, tribal, municipal, or other local

government entity.
What types of applications will be considered?

Applications will be accepted for the following:

Capital Improvements- These proposals include rehabilitation, restoration, construction, and reconstruction of

roads, bridges, multiuse trails, and other long-term transportation system asset improvements. This 

includes improvements such as safety improvements, widening, realignments, surfacing, culverts, signing, 

guardrail,walls and associated roadway appurtenances.

Enhancements- These proposals are road and trail related improvements such as interpretative signing, kiosks,

viewpoints, adjacent vehicular parking areas, roadside rest areas (including sanitary and water facilities),

provisions for pedestrians and bicycles, acquisition of scenic easement and scenic or historic sites, trailheads,

trails, and improvements that improve public safety and reduce vehicle-wildlife mortality while maintaining

habitat connectivity.

Surface Preservation- These proposals include surface preservation of roads, trails, and adjacent vehicular

parking areas. They include chip sealing, crack sealing, and aggregate courses. FLAP funds are not intended for

routine maintenance projects (e.g., potholes, mowing, snow removal, same type guardrail replacement, etc.).

Transit- These proposals include construction of transit facilities (e.g. ferry docks, helipads, boat ramps) and

limited duration operation/maintenance of transit services and facilities (including vehicles) and the purchase of

transit vehicles.

Planning- These proposals include engineering feasibility studies, corridor management planning,

bicycle/pedestrian planning and alternative transportation system planning that will provide valuable

information for future FLAP proposals.

Research- These proposals include evaluating solutions that enhance access, safety or sustainability. They

address issues such as wildlife-vehicle collision avoidance measures, context sensitive roadside safety features,

and congestion management strategies.

Who may apply?

Eligible applicants include State, county, tribal or city government agencies that own or have maintenance

responsibility of the transportation facility or must supply a letter from the facility owner/maintainer indicating

the application is being submitted on their behalf. Project applications must be sponsored and/or supported by

the appropriate Federal Land Management Agency (FLMA) unit whose access would be enhanced by the

proposed action. This acknowledgement of sponsorship and support must be demonstrated by an application

signature and/or letter of support attached to the application from an appropriate representative of the

benefitting FLMA unit. Early coordination between the appropriate FLMA and state/county/local/tribal

government is encouraged to ensure adequate time for thorough review and input before the submittal due date.

All projects must be submitted using the EFLHD Access Program Application form (located on the website).

*NEW* Are matching funds required?

As a result of recent legislative action, the program no longer requires any matching funds. Project award values represent 

100% federal funding. Applicants may also provide additional funds beyond the requested amount of FLAP funds to 

contribute to the project. Because of the limited amount of FLAP funding available in each state in any given federal fiscal 

year, proposals will receive additional consideration when funding is leveraged from other sources.

How would the projects be delivered?

On the application form you will select from EFLHD, State DOT or Local Public Agency or “Other” as the preferred 

delivery organization. EFLHD welcomes the opportunity to provide “cradle to grave” project delivery services under 

this program. This approach allows State or local resources to be utilized on their other priorities.

State DOTs are eligible to deliver their own projects. Local agencies requesting to deliver their own project must be

certified by the State DOT or demonstrate prior experience with the use of federal transportation funds (Title 23) to

deliver projects in compliance with Federal Highway Administration regulations. Additional information regarding local 

agency project delivery roles and responsibilities may be found at the following website:

http://www.fhwa.dot.gov/federal-aidessentials/stateresources.cfm
If you would like to request EFLHD to deliver your project, please coordinate with EFLHD at a minimum of 30 

days prior to the closing of the Call for Projects to request development of an independent project cost estimate by 

EFLHD staff. Contact Lewis Grimm, EFLHD Planning Team Leader, 703-404-6289 or at Lewis.Grimm@dot.gov.

Applications (minus the estimated project budget values) will still need to be submitted to EFLHD by the 

applicant prior to the closing date of the Call for Projects.

The range of potential EFLHD delivered services includes: Planning/Feasibility Studies, Preliminary and Final

Engineering Design, Federal Environmental Compliance, Construction Contract Advertisement, Construction

Contract Administration, Construction Engineering & Inspection, and Federal Stewardship and Oversight.

However, the lead agency designation and participating agencies’ roles and responsibilities will be considered

during both the initial application evaluation and the Project Agreement development Phases. Decisions

regarding lead and participating agency roles will be based on the type of project, project complexity,and how 

the work is proposed to be delivered. 

What if I have questions?

You are welcome to contact any of the FLAP Programming Decisions Committee (PDC) members for your

state with your questions using the contact information contained in the website. Additionally, questions about

project eligibility or the EFLHD application process can be directed to Lewis Grimm or Richelle Ellis,

FHWA/EFLHD (contact information shown below). Also please find on the website a FAQ document and 

FLAP Tip Sheet with suggested factors to be considered for submitting a good application. 

Thank you for your interest in the FLAP program. We look forward to working with you in developing a

multiyear program of projects for the period of FY2023 - FY2026.

Lewis G. Grimm, P.E.

Planning Team Leader

EFLHD/FHWA

Tel: (703) 404-6289

Fax: (703) 404-6217

Cell: (703) 629-1450

Lewis.grimm@dot.gov

Richelle J. Ellis

Access Program Planning Coordinator

EFLHD/FHWA

Tel: (703) 404-6333

Fax: (703) 404-6217

Richelle.Ellis@dot.gov