Office of the Secretary January 6, 2022 – Federal Register Recent Federal Regulation Documents

The Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act, enacted in December 2015, authorized the establishment of a Regional Infrastructure Accelerators Demonstration Program (the Program) to assist entities in developing improved infrastructure priorities and financing strategies for the accelerated development of a project that is eligible for funding under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Credit Program. The Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, enacted on December 27, 2020, appropriated $5 million for this Program. A NOFO was issued in December 2020 and five accelerators were selected from the initial round of applicants. The Build America Bureau (the Bureau) is issuing a second NOFO to further expand the Program and solicit applications for designating and funding Regional Infrastructure Accelerators (RIA) that: (1) Serve a defined geographic area; (2) act as a resource to qualified entities in the geographic area in accordance with the FAST Act; and (3) demonstrate the effectiveness of an RIA to expedite the delivery of projects eligible for the TIFIA credit program. Projects are not required to apply for or receive TIFIA credit assistance to be eligible; however, applicants who are considering the appropriateness of innovative financing methods such as TIFIA, the Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) credit program, Private Activity Bonds (PABs), project bundling, private investment, and other innovative financing methods to accelerate the delivery of eligible projects are strongly encouraged to apply.