# Tribes

- FHWA Announces $21 Million in Grant Awards for Tribal Transportation Safety Improvements From President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law FHWA Announces $21 Million in Grant Awards for Tribal Transportation Safety Improvements From President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Lawneil_gaffneyWed, 02/01/2023 - 15:41            FHWA 05-23Contact: FHWA.PressOffice@dot.govTel: (202) 366-0660WASHINGTON -- As part of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s commitment to reducing roadway fatalities, the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced that 70 Tribes will receive approximately $21 million for 93 projects that improve road safety on Tribal lands. Traffic crashes occur more frequently in Tribal and rural communities, and addressing that is one of the safety goals laid out in the Department’s National Roadway Safety Strategy.“This funding from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will not only improve safety on Tribal roads for drivers, but it will improve safety and accessibility for other users such as road work crews, pedestrians and bicyclists,” said Federal Highway Administrator Shailen Bhatt. “We’re pleased to help Tribes implement these projects that will help save lives in Tribal communities.”The funding comes from FHWA’s Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund. The list of grant recipients announced today includes 16 Tribes that have not previously participated in the program and will now receive funding to develop their first transportation safety plan. The funding is provided directly to Tribes for a range of projects, including the development of safety plans, data analysis activities, pedestrian infrastructure improvements, roadway departure countermeasures, intersection safety, visibility and traffic calming.Among the FY2022 grant recipients are the following:	The Colorado River Indian Tribes in Arizona will receive $792,440 for two projects in La Paz County to implement roadway departure countermeasures along a curve on Booth Road and 4th Avenue and 2nd Avenue, which is currently at high risk for crashes, and to implement pedestrian safety improvements along Agency Road, 1st Avenue, and Arizona Avenue.	The Red Lake Band of Chippewa Indians in Minnesota will receive $300,000 for pedestrian safety and walkability improvements for the Red Lake Nation Hospital Compound in Red Lake.	The Fort Peck Assiniboine & Sioux Tribes in Montana will receive $600,000 for roadway infrastructure improvements, including shoulder widening and other improvements along Route 1 on the Fort Peck Reservation.	The Seneca Nation of Indians in New York will receive $1,627,086 for the Broad Street-Iroquois Drive Intersection Improvement Project to construct a roundabout in Salamanca, New York.The President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides the largest funding ever in the history of the Tribal Transportation Program, which includes the safety fund, by increasing the total authorized from $2.4 billion under the Fixing America’s Surface Transportation Act to $3 billion for Fiscal Years 2022 through 2026. This is in addition to the new Safe Streets and Roads for All discretionary grant program that will provide $1 billion this year to support regional, local, and Tribal plans, projects and strategies that will prevent roadway deaths and serious injuries. Today’s announcement follows USDOT's announcement earlier this week of $800 million for the first round of Safe Streets and Roads for All grants to 500 communities across the country.As part of the White House Tribal Nations Summit in December, the U.S. Department of Transportation announced a slate of actions to build on USDOT’s ongoing work to deliver infrastructure funding to Indian Country. Additionally, the White House released a Fact sheet on the Tribal Nations Summit announcements.To further assist the 574 federally recognized Tribes in addressing their transportation needs, FHWA has developed Transportation Funding Opportunities for Tribal Nations, a brochure that provides information on new highway programs created under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law as well as existing highway and bridge transportation funding programs. Additional information on the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund can be found on the FHWA web site.###                                          0            Placement              Off                            Effective Date              Thu, 02/02/2023 - 12:00                Related Links                        FY2022 TTPSF Grant Awards List          Transportation Funding Opportunities for Tribal Nations                          Contact Info              FHWA Office of Public Affairs                How to set Effective Date              Use specific date to backdate article                Placement              Off                Archive              Off
- FHWA Awards Six Tribal Technical Assistance Program Cooperative Agreements to Support Native American Communities’ Access to Federal Funding, Improve Safety, and Economic Opportunity FHWA Awards Six Tribal Technical Assistance Program Cooperative Agreements to Support Native American Communities’ Access to Federal Funding, Improve Safety, and Economic Opportunity neil_gaffneyTue, 11/29/2022 - 16:43            Tribes encouraged to seek assistance from the Center in their area and apply for historic Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Tribal funding; Funding opportunity for a seventh center coming soonWASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation’s (USDOT) Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) today announced cooperative agreements re-establishing regional Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) centers. The centers will assist Tribal communities as they seek to access $3 billion in Tribal Transportation Program Funding made available by President Biden’s infrastructure package, as well as additional Federal funding opportunities.FHWA’s move from a centralized technical assistance model – headquartered in a single, centralized location under a two-year pilot program – back to a regional technical assistance model responds to the input of Tribes gathered in 13 listening sessions over seven months, and input from Tribal stakeholders through a Federal Register Notice Request for Information. These conversations illuminated the diversity of needs across the wide range of geographic, topographic, and climate conditions that exist across Indian country.The regional centers will ultimately serve the 12 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) regions and associated Tribes and meet the transportation training and education needs of Native American communities, building skills and expertise to ensure the safety and maintenance of Tribal roads.“We have heard directly from Tribal leaders across the country about how decades of underinvestment in infrastructure affects Tribal communities,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Today, the Biden-Harris Administration is responding to calls from our Tribal partners for greater technical assistance, establishing six regional centers, with a seventh on the way. Our goal is to help Tribes make the most of historic funding to modernize roads, bridges and more.”“FHWA is deepening its commitment to partnering with Tribal communities across the country by re-establishing these technical assistance centers and helping Tribal communities secure access to federal transportation funding and technical assistance,” said Federal Highway Acting Administrator Stephanie Pollack. “We are committed to ongoing dialogue with Tribal governments to ensure that this restored technical assistance program is responsive to Tribes and provides them with access to the technical training and assistance they need. This will allow Tribes to successfully compete for Federal infrastructure funding and administer and manage transportation programs that serve the needs of their Tribal communities and reduce the significant number of serious injuries and fatalities on Tribal lands.”TTAP centers are established to deliver the Tribal component of FHWA’s Local Technical Assistance Program to Tribal communities. The centers provide American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal governments with training, technical assistance, and technology services that best meet the needs of Tribal communities, including on-demand, virtual, and hands-on services that strengthen Tribal capacity for self-governance of transportation programs. TTAP centers complement other DOT technical assistance resources designed to support Tribal, rural and disadvantaged communities.Today’s announcement is a critical step in a process begun earlier this year when FHWA issued a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) announcing the availability of up to $17.8 million over five years to re-establish regional TTAP centers. Of the seven TTAP Centers advertised, the following six TTAP centers were selected for award:									Regional TTAP Centers									Associated BIA Regions									TTAP Center Awards															Southern TTAP Center									Eastern Oklahoma									Oklahoma State University (OSU)													Southern Plains													Southwestern TTAP Center									Navajo									Lenea Corporation (LC)													Southwest													Northern TTAP Center									Rocky Mountain									North Dakota State University (NDSU)													Great Plains													Western TTAP Center									Pacific									National Indian Justice Center (NIJC)													Western													Northwestern TTAP Center									Northwest									University of Washington (UW)													Alaska TTAP Center									Alaska									University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF)						The final, Eastern TTAP Center that will assist Tribes in the Eastern and Midwest Associated Bureau of Indian Affairs Regions, will be readvertised in December of this year through a NOFO, with an informational webinar two weeks following that notice. That NOFO will be available at grants.gov and includes additional information and program requirements.In addition to $3 billion in Tribal Transportation Program funding and $17.8 million to re-establish TTAP centers, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law provides the following funding specifically for Tribes between 2022 and 2026:	$825 million under the Tribal Transportation Facility Bridge Program and Bridge Formula Program Tribal Bridge set-aside;	$200 million under the Tribal Transportation Facility Bridge Program and Bridge Investment Program Tribal Bridge set-aside;	$121 million under the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund; and	$45 million under the Tribal High Priority Projects Program; and	$10 million under the Rural and Tribal Technical Assistance Pilot Program.To assist the 574 federally recognized Tribes in addressing their transportation needs, FHWA developed a Transportation Funding Opportunities for Tribal Nations brochure, and this summer the USDOT launched Navigator to help communities understand the best ways to apply for grants and access the full array of DOT technical assistance resources.In the coming months, the Department will host listening sessions to gather further input on how USDOT and FHWA can support Tribal communities as they work to access transportation funding under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to improve safety, mobility options and quality of life for Tribal residents.###                                          0            Placement              Off                            Effective Date              Wed, 11/30/2022 - 12:00                Related Links                        Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP)          Notice of Funding Opportunity for the Eastern Tribal Technical Assistance Progr...          Transportation Funding Opportunities for Tribal Nations brochure (PDF)          DOT Navigator                          Contact Info              FHWA Office of Public Affairs                How to set Effective Date              Use specific date to backdate article                Placement              Off                Archive              Off