NDOT launches program to help with federal grant applications

Nebraska recently launched its first government assistance program dedicated to helping state and local public agencies apply for federal grants.

The Nebraska Infrastructure Hub was developed to make it easier for communities to apply for federal dollars from the 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.

Jodi Gibson with the Nebraska Department of Transportation said a report last year found Nebraska ranked 48th in the number of awards and applications submitted for discretionary grants.

“We are at the bottom, right? And so, our goal through the Infrastructure Hub is to help support our agencies to go after these grants and hopefully get more money here in Nebraska,” she said.

She said many small communities don't have staff that has expertise in grant applications, which can make it difficult to find federal dollars.

“If you talk to any of those agencies throughout the state, their number one concern is, 'We don't have enough money to handle maintenance of our roads and bridges, and so this just closes that gap,"' she said.

The Infrastructure Hub includes a portal where local agencies can fill out basic information about their projects and be matched with grants they qualify for.

The program also has two full-time staff and additional on-call consultants who can help with more complicated parts of federal grant applications, like cost-benefit analyses.

In 2024, the Nebraska Department of Transportation has already awarded nearly $134 million of discretionary funding to projects in the state – more than twice the total amount dispersed last year.