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Consultants point to NCTCOG transportation funding program as the best first step for FM 407 funding
Summary
0.5 Associates recommended pursuing the NCTCOG transportation funding program first for its lower threshold and collaborative process; consultants explained TxDOT TA is more competitive and that any federal funding requires NEPA and a 20% local match.
Liz Range Pendle (speaker 9), the consultants' funding lead, walked the CDC through federal and regional funding options for the three alignments and recommended starting with the NCTCOG transportation funding program. She said that program is "low-hanging fruit," more collaborative, and could fund design and construction with programmatic support; by contrast, the TxDOT Transportation Alternatives program is more competitive and historically had a higher threshold for projects in this area.
Liz emphasized that any federal funding path will require a 20% local non-federal match and will trigger NEPA and TxDOT design reviews, which lengthen schedules and increase some up-front costs. "All of these projects would require 20% non federal match," she said. She outlined a waterfall strategy: pursue NCTCOG transportation funding program first; if unsuccessful, pursue NCTCOG TA or TxDOT statewide calls in sequence. The board asked for clarity on which option would meet each program's thresholds and how local match and engineering procurement would be handled if federal dollars are sought.
