USDOT/FHWA Commuter Authority Rail Safety Improvement (CARSI) Grant Round 2

1/6/2022 (Update 1 to Forecast Notice): UPDATE on NOFO SCHEDULE: Estimated NOFO release date is DELAYED from 1/6/2022 to 1/31/2022. Estimated application due date is 60 days after NOFO release. These are estimated dates only. Applicants should refer to the issued NOFO for final official dates, and applicants should subscribe to this notice to receive updates and/or changes. The USDOT/FHWA will host an Informational Webinar regarding this funding opportunity. Date of the Informational Webinar is now TBD, estimated to occur 2 weeks after NOFO release.

12/7/2021 (Original Notice): USDOT/FHWA anticipates release of the CARSI Round 2 Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) No. 693JJ322NF00002 on JANUARY 6, 2022, at www.Grants.gov, with an estimated application due date of MARCH 7, 2022, and estimated selection announcements by JUNE 2022. These are estimated dates only. Applicants should refer to the issued NOFO for final official dates. The USDOT/FHWA will host an Informational Webinar regarding this funding opportunity, to help potential applicants understand the opportunity requirements and answer applicant questions. Participation in this session is not mandatory in order to submit an application under this solicitation. Webinar Date:   January 20, 2022 from 12 noon to 1:30 pm Eastern Time. To Register: Send participant name, title, email, and organization name to Sarah.Tarpgaard@dot.gov by January 14, 2022 to receive Meeting Invite with webinar link.

This forecast announces the upcoming availability of up to $59,744,250 in Federal funding for award of multiple CARSI Round 2 grants. The purpose of the CARSI Round 2 grant program is to improve safety at public railway-highway crossings. The program provides funding to eligible entities for the construction of projects for the elimination of hazards at railway-highway crossings.

Specific program goals include:

 1)   Improve safety at railway-highway crossings through the elimination of hazards at public railway-highway crossings;

 2)   Reduce fatalities, serious injuries, and crashes at public railway-highway crossings;

 3)   Reduce the number of existing public at-grade crossings by closure or grade separation; and

 4)   Reduce delays or improve system performance by eliminating hazards posed by blocked grade crossings due to idling trains.

Eligible Projects: Eligible projects under this grant program are limited to the following: (1) the separation or protection of grades at crossings; (2) the reconstruction of existing railroad grade crossing structures; (3) the relocation of highways to eliminate grade crossings; or (4) projects at grade crossings to eliminate hazards posed by blocked grade crossings due to idling trains. NOTE: The proposed location of the

project is not required to be the location of the accident previously investigated by the NTSB. The proposed location of the project is up to the discretion of the applicant.

Eligible Applicants: To be eligible, an applicant must be a “commuter authority” as defined in 49 U.S.C. 24102, which is a State, local, or regional entity established to provide, or make a contract for, commuter rail passenger transportation. An eligible commuter authority must have experienced at least one accident investigated by the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2018, and for which the NTSB issued an accident report. The applicant must be either: (1) a commuter authority that meets the eligibility requirements listed above; OR (2) a public or non-profit entity partnering with an eligible commuter authority. NOTE: Applicants are encouraged to partner with their State DOT and are encouraged to have their State DOT apply as the prime applicant for receipt of DOT Federal funding. As appropriate, awards may be made to State DOTs as pass-through grantees for administration of the funds to a commuter authority as a subawardee. Per 2 CFR 200.1, a pass-through entity is a non-Federal entity that provides a subaward to a subrecipient to carry out part of a Federal program.

NOTE: Those Applicants who received grant awards under CARSI Round 1 remain eligible for CARSI Round 2 with no restrictions. The CARSI Round 1 award announcement issued January 2021 is available online here: https://cms8.fhwa.dot.gov/newsroom/us-department-transportation-awards-40-million-grants-improve-safety-highway-railway.

Cost Share: The grants will be funded with FY20 CARSI funds and FY21 CARSI funds. The FY20 CARSI funds total $9,744,250 and do require a cost share of 10% of the project cost. The FY21 CARSI funds total $50,000,000 and have no cost share requirement.

Questions? Contact Sarah Tarpgaard, USDOT/FHWA Contracting Officer, sarah.tarpgaard@dot.gov