Citizen Portal
Sign In

NDOT outlines infrastructure hub, $2M technical assistance and transit improvements

State Highway Commission · December 10, 2024

Loading...

AI-Generated Content: All content on this page was generated by AI to highlight key points from the meeting. For complete details and context, we recommend watching the full video. so we can fix them.

Summary

NDOT presented its new infrastructure hub to help local governments compete for discretionary grants, described a grants‑pairing portal, $2,000,000 in technical assistance for application support, and reported transit program metrics including roughly $11M in 5311 rural funding and about 625,000 rural rides in 2024.

NDOT staff on Dec. 6 described an "infrastructure hub" the department launched to help local agencies compete for discretionary federal grants, provide technical assistance and coordinate post‑award management.

Jody, who leads local assistance work, said the hub offers three main tools: Grants 101 guidance tailored to discretionary awards, a grants‑pairing portal that helps agencies match projects to funding opportunities, and a letters‑of‑support workflow. NDOT has allocated $2,000,000 in technical‑assistance money to pay consultants to help local agencies prepare applications; Jody said there is no local match required for that assistance.

Sarah Bauty, NDOT transit manager, summarized the agency’s Federal Transit Administration portfolio: the State’s 5311 rural program (she said it provided just over $11,000,000 last year), other FTA programs and about $17,700,000 in total FTA funds to the state. NDOT reported rural providers served over 90 counties and operate more than 400 vehicles daily; 2024 ridership in rural systems is approximately 625,000 rides after a pandemic drop. Sarah also acknowledged previous audit findings that prompted corrective actions: last year there were about 176 findings and that number has decreased to around 51 after increased oversight, staffing and updated guidance and training.

Jody described hub outcomes so far: in eight weeks the hub team engaged about 14 local agencies, the portal logged 55 entities entering projects in a recent month, and NDOT tracked roughly $155,000,000 awarded to Nebraska through discretionary grants since 2022 (a figure Jody said is updated continuously on the hub website). The hub also pushes technical solutions such as recommending transit software for providers seeking operating funds in 2027 to standardize reporting to the National Transit Database.

The commission asked about uncovered counties; Sarah identified Arthur, McPherson and Logan as not currently served and said the hub’s gap analysis with UNO is intended to guide expansion or better coordination among providers.

Beatrice’s city administrator, Tobias Templemeyer, spoke as a case study: after hiring grant writers and consultants the city secured a RAISE award totaling $21,400,000 to move a highway and beautify its courthouse corridor. NDOT said the department will continue to support local governments with back‑end grant management and compliance after awards are made.

NDOT asked commissioners to promote the hub to local leaders and to direct entities with potential projects to the portal for help and outreach.