RAISE Overview
The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) Discretionary Grant program invests in road, rail, transit, and port projects promising to achieve national objectives. This grant builds on prior programs, such as the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) and Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grants.
RAISE can provide funding directly to a variety of public entities (states, units of local government, Metropolitan Planning Organizations, etc.), in contrast to traditional federal programs that provide funding only to specific applicant types (mostly State DOTs and transit agencies); the more expansive eligibility requirements of RAISE allow project sponsors at the state or local levels to obtain funding for multi-modal, multi-jurisdictional projects that do not fit within traditional USDOT programs.
For award cycles in 2021, 2022, and 2023, RAISE awarded 418 projects across all 50 states, District of Columbia, as well as Puerto Rico and other territories. All RAISE, BUILD, and TIGER awarded projects can be found HERE.
The Local Infrastructure Hub is highlighting Lincoln, Nebraska’s Multimodal Transit Transfer Center project as it shows how RAISE grants can be used to invest in complex, transformative transportation projects and how Lincoln’s process contains lessons for future RAISE grant applicants.
Lincoln, NE
Fast Facts:
| Population (City) | 291,082 |
| Land area | 100.97 sq miles |
| Poverty rate (2020) | 12.8% |
| Average daily weekday trips (2021) | 6,775 |
| StarTran – fixed | 67 buses serving 16 routes + downtown circular |
| StarTran – paratransit | 21 vehicles, serving 1,500 ADA-eligible individuals |
| Annual passenger trips (FY 2020-21) | 1,791,383 |
Considerations for municipalities
- Is there an opportunity for multi-modal, multi-jurisdictional coordination within your region?
- Has your city conducted a feasibility study and NEPA reviews as part of a pre-development planning process?
- Can your city demonstrate that you are prepared to obligate all funds by the timeline required for the grant?
- How can you demonstrate the project’s local or regional impact and proactively address racial equity and climate resiliency?
- In what ways will your project create good jobs and reduce barriers to economic opportunities?
- What data is available to you to illustrate transportation challenges in your city and the impact of your project?