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Discretionary Grant Funding

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2023 Fall Call for New and Shortfall Projects

The Charlotte Regional Transportation Planning Organization (CRTPO) receives direct attributable funds to be allocated to member jurisdiction projects on a competitive basis.

On August 14, 2023, the CRTPO opened a call for projects in which all available discretionary federal funding sources will be considered for programming. Approximately $62 million funds are available for programming, mainly in the fiscal years 2026-2028. Funds may be available earlier for existing CRTPO awarded projects that need supplemental funds. This year’s call includes Carbon Reduction Program funds again. We will program available funds from 2024-2026 for over $6 million, included in the $62 million available. These funds may be used on projects that reduce carbon dioxide emissions from on-road highway sources. Projects may include dedicated bus lanes, traffic monitoring management, on-road and off-road trail facilities for pedestrians, bicyclists, and other nonmotorized forms of transportation. A complete list of eligible projects and additional program information may be found at INFORMATION: Carbon Reduction Program (CRP) Implementation Guidance (dot.gov)

The annual fall call consists of the following opportunities for member jurisdictions within the CRTPO planning area:

  • New discretionary transportation capital projects.
  • Supplemental funds requests to existing CRTPO projects that have a demonstrated a funding shortfall to deliver the current scope of the project.
  • New planning study projects (feasibility studies, etc.).

When you decide to apply for funds, please immediately email a completed pre-submittal form and email it to jennifer.stafford@charlottenc.gov to request a pre-submittal meeting date.

A mandatory pre-submittal meeting must be completed by October 13, 2023. Your application will not be accepted without attendance of the pre-submittal meeting.

Pre-submittal Materials:

Application Materials:

Estimating Resources:

On August 23, 2023, at 2:00 p.m., an education session will be held on how to apply for discretionary funds, and recent changes to the policy. Click on the image below to view the video. View the Discretionary Grants Program 2023 Fall Call – Applying for Funds presentation here.

Discretionary Grants Program, 2023 Fall Call, Applying for Funds Education Session

If you have any questions about discretionary projects, please contact Jennifer Stafford at jennifer.stafford@charlottenc.gov.


Discretionary Grants Program Policy Document

The CRTPO uses the Policy to prioritize and program all projects within the planning area that utilize discretionary funds. This process involves an annual call for new local highway, intersection, transit, bicycle, and pedestrian projects and a biannual call for existing discretionary projects that require supplemental funds.

The policy may be found here:

Discretionary Grants Program Policy Guide (Please note: The CRTPO Board is expected to adopt a revised Policy Guide on September 20, 2023. )

CRTPO Transportation Funding Programs Brochure: State Transportation Improvement Program (STIP) and Discretionary Projects Program

Discretionary Grant Funded Projects
CRTPO Discretionary Projects Map

The map above shows Discretionary funded projects from 2019 – 2022.

Locally Administered Projects Workshop

On May 8, 2023, the CRTPO in conjunction with FHWA and NCDOT, hosted a training workshop for project delivery of federally funded projects. 

Below are links to the presentation and the speaker contact information.  A link to the recorded Workshop will be available later.

Overview of CRTPO’s Call for ProjectsJennifer Stafford, jennifer.stafford@charlottenc.govDevelopment Planner, CRTPO
Funding, Monitoring & Reporting, and ExpectationsTammy RichardsLocal Programs Manager, FHWA
Overview of Federal-aid Project Delivery, Documents, and Submittals.  Helpful HintsJeff Burleson, jaburleson@ncdot.govLocally Admin.  Projects Engineer, NCDOT
Agreements and On-boarding ConsultantsMarta Matthews, mtmatthews@ncdot.govLocal Programs Manager, NCDOT
Environmental DocumentationJoel Howard, jmhoward@ncdot.govPDEA Engineer, NCDOT
Right of WayJason Callicutt, Jacallicutt@ncdot.govROW Agent, NCDOT
Utilities/Railroads (timeline/scheduling)Lynn Basinger, TLBasinger@ncdot.govUtilities Engineer, NCDOT
Specifications/Contract Proposal/Bidding & Award of Contract ProcessJared Mathis, jsmathis@ncdot.govContracts Engineer, NCDOT
Construction Contract Administration and Project CloseoutKellie Crump, ext-kkcrump@ncdot.govTransportation Engineer II, NCDOT/KCA
NCDOT’s Enterprise Business Services (EBS) Portal (agreement request, document review, reimbursement process, etc.)Marta Matthews, mtmatthews@ncdot.govLocal Programs Manager, NCDOT
Workshop topics, presentations, and contact information.

Checklists:

Federal Highway Administration Locally Administered Project Review Checklist

North Carolina Department of Transportation Locally Administered Project Review Checklist

Discretionary Funds Webinars

How to apply for grants webinar: August 11, 2021 
View the webinar recording here: Discretionary Funds Application Webinar

Planning funding webinar: September 22, 2021
View the webinar recording here: Planning Funds Webinar (video)
View the webinar presentation here: Planning Funds Webinar (pdf)
View the planning project resources here: Planning Projects Resources

Additional Resources:
View the Cost Estimating Tools page for additional resources.

Webinars

How to apply for grants webinar recording: Discretionary Funds Application Webinar

If you have any questions about discretionary projects, please contact Jennifer Stafford at jennifer.stafford@charlottenc.gov.

NCDOT Agreements & Authorizations – June 24, 2019

Local Discretionary-Funds Project Managers Workshop

CRTPO hosted a workshop for the Local Discretionary-Funds Project Managers in June 2019. Below is the recording from the workshop regarding NCDOT Agreements and Authorizations.