Article

Bridge Investment Program (BIP) Large Bridge Project Grants

June 12, 2025

Federal Highway Administration Discretionary Grants Opportunity

BIP Large Bridge Project Application Deadlines

Monday, June 16, 2025 for FY25 funds amended applications
Friday, August 1, 2025 for FY26 funds

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The U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) has released a Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) for Bridge Investment Program (BIP) Large Bridge Project Grants.

The program aims to:

Improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of people and freight over bridges
Provide financial assistance that leverages and encourages non-federal contributions from sponsors and stakeholders involved in the planning, design and construction of eligible projects
Improve the condition of bridges in the United states

Up to $9.62 billion in BIP funding is available FY 2023 through FY 2026. This includes funds for planning, feasibility analyses and revenue forecasting associated with development of a project subsequently eligible to apply for a Bridge or Large Bridge project grant.

Funding is available to replace, rehabilitate, preserve or protect one or more bridges on the National Bridge Inventory. Applicants must also describe how the bridge will be maintained and, where applicable, consider accommodations for bicyclists and pedestrians. Eligible project costs include development phase activities, construction, seismic or scour protection, and subsidy/credit assistance costs for a federal loan from the TIFIA program.

More information, including the complete NOFO, is available on Grants.gov and from FHWA's BIP grant program.

Amendments to Updated NOFO

Removes references to rescinded executive orders
Aligns NOFO with new executive orders
Provides an additional opportunity for applicants under consideration for applications submitted in the FY 2025 application cycle to amend their applications.
For applications reviewed during the FY 2025 cycle (including applications from FY23-24 that were carried forward), applicants will be notified of the amended NOFO and given 14 days to:
- Notify FHWA to retain the existing application,
- Submit an amended application by June 16, 2025, OR
- Notify FHWA to withdraw application from consideration in the FY 2025 application cycle.

Responses and/or amended applications will need to be sent to %20Bridgeinvestmentprogram [at] dot.gov (Bridgeinvestmentprogram[at]dot[dot]gov) with a copy to %20Semme.Yilma [at] dot.gov (Semme[dot]Yilma[at]dot[dot]gov).

Minimum Project Cost and Award Size

Large Bridge projects must be greater than $100 million in cost. The program offers a minimum Large Bridge project grant sufficient to fully fund project in combination with other identified funds, not less than $50 million. The maximum grant is up to 50% of eligible capital costs.

Expenditure Timeframes

Projects must have completed environmental review and preliminary engineering, be ready to proceed to project delivery within 12 months of environmental clearance and reasonably expected to begin construction no later than 18 months after BIP funds are obligated.

BIP funds are available for obligation for a total of four years (the fiscal year in which they are provided plus three additional years). For example, FY 2023 BIP funds are available for obligation through September 30, 2026. Obligation of BIP grant funds occurs when a selected applicant enters a grant agreement with FHWA. For construction, this is generally after the applicant has satisfied applicable administrative requirements, including transportation planning and environmental review requirements.

Once obligated, Highway Infrastructure Programs (HIP) GF grant funds may be used to reimburse a recipient only for eligible costs incurred up to five years after the obligation deadline, whereas Highway Trust Funds (HTF) funds do not have an expenditure deadline. For example, FY 2023 BIP funds from HIP GF must be expended by September 30, 2031.

BIP funds remain available for obligation and expenditure as follows:

bridge investment program investment funding

Fiscal Year 2025, HIP GF Period of Availability for:

Obligation Deadline (Lapse): Sept. 30, 2028
Expenditure Deadline (Cancellation): Sept. 30, 2033

Fiscal Year 2025, HTF Period of Availability for:

Obligation Deadline (Lapse): Sept. 30, 2028
Expenditure Deadline: Available until expended

Fiscal Year 2026, HIP GF Period of Availability for:

Obligation Deadline (Lapse): Sept. 30, 2029
Expenditure Deadline (Cancellation): Sept. 30, 2034

Fiscal Year 2026, HTF Period of Availability for:

Obligation Deadline (Lapse): Sept. 30, 2029
Expenditure Deadline: Available until expended

Eligible Recipients

A state or group of states
Metropolitan planning organizations (MPOs) serving an urbanized area (population greater than 200,000)
A unit of local government or group of local governments
Political subdivisions of a state or local government
A special purpose district or public authority with transportation functions
A federal land management agency
A Tribal government or consortium of Tribal governments
A multistate or multijurisdictional group of any entities listed above

FHWA will consider geographic diversity of grant recipients, including rural/urban balance. Projects in non-urbanized areas, or in urbanized areas with a population below 50,000 will be considered rural.

Statutory Evaluation Requirements

FHWA will evaluate Bridge and Large Bridge project applications on the basis of the following factors:

Costs avoided by the prevention or closure of a bridge to be improved
Benefits from scour or seismic protection
Reductions in maintenance costs
Consistency with asset management plan of the project sponsor
Safety benefits, including reduction of accidents and related costs
Person and freight mobility benefits, including congestion reduction and reliability improvements
National or regional economic benefits
Benefits from long-term resiliency to extreme weather events, flooding or other natural disasters
Environmental benefits, including wildlife connectivity
Benefits to nonvehicular and public transportation users
In the case of bundled projects, benefits from executing as a group
Benefits of using innovative design and construction techniques or technologies
Benefits outweighing costs (benefit-cost analysis greater than 1.0)
Funding committed to support ongoing maintenance and preservation

Project Outcome Criteria

FHWA will evaluate Large Bridge projects according to the following specific project outcome criteria:

State of good repair
Safety and Mobility
Economic competitiveness and opportunity
Sustainability, Resiliency and the Environment
Quality of Life

In addition, FHWA will use the merit criteria to assess how a project advances safety, reduction in emissions, increased resilience to extreme weather events, improve transportation access, promoting competitiveness of the U.S. economy, improving job opportunities and accommodating new emerging technologies.

Benefit-Cost Analysis

A benefit-cost analysis (BCA) is required, with a high rating for projects with a BCA of at least 1.5. The FHWA provides a BCA tool to help applicants summarize project costs and benefits and to obtain data from the NBI in preparation of the economic analysis required for this grant application.

Applicants that are resubmitting their FY2025 application (and received notice from USDOT) do not need to update the BCA with the recent BCA guidance.

Those that will submit for FY2026 BIP are required to follow the latest BCA guidance, as well as the BIP BCA tool.