ADVANCING SUSTAINABILITY AND RESILIENCE IN PAVEMENTS

DEADLINE FOR APPLICATIONS: June 26, 2023, at 11:59 PM (Eastern).

QUESTIONS DUE DATE: Any questions regarding this NOFO are due to FHWA Point of Contact, Freida Byrd, Agreement Specialist at Freida.Byrd@dot.gov, no later than May 22, 2023, at 4:00 PM (Eastern).

SUBMIT APPLICATIONS TO: The FHWA uses www.grants.gov for receipt of all applications. Applicants must register and use the system to submit applications electronically. Applicants are encouraged to register in advance of the submission deadline and to register to receive notifications of updates/amendments to this Notice. Approval of user registrations for the site may take multiple weeks. It is the Applicant's responsibility to monitor for any updates to this Notice.

The purpose of this Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) is to solicit applications to result in the award of a new Cooperative Agreement, entitled, Advancing Sustainability and Resilience in Pavements. This opportunity is being issued under assistance listing number 20.200, Highway Research & Development.

For more than 10 years, Sustainable Pavements Program (SPP) has been working to advance the knowledge and practice of sustainability related to pavement systems, encourage infrastructure sustainability, including quantification of environmental impacts through the use of lifecycle assessment (LCA) and environmental product declarations (EPDs).

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, also known as the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL), which passed in 2021, included a Carbon Reduction Program. Furthermore, the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 includes $2 billion grant program for low-carbon transportation materials.

FHWA awarded funds to 27 agencies as part of the Climate Challenge, Quantifying Emissions of Sustainable Pavements. The FHWA Climate Challenge provides resources to these agencies to explore the use of LCAs and EPDs as a standard practice to inform pavement material and design selection for enhancing sustainable pavement practices and quantify the emissions and impacts of those practices.

The FHWA Low-Carbon Materials Grant Program authorized in IRA will build upon programs such as the FHWA's Climate Challenge) and Every Day Counts (EDC) Initiative on EPDs for Sustainable Project Delivery.

The purpose of this cooperative agreement (Agreement) is to further the SPP by exploring topics related to sustainability and resilience, including, but not limited to, sustainable and resilience infrastructure, equity, life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), LCA, social LCA, vulnerability assessment, use of low-carbon materials that are suitable to use in the US public road system, and other related topics.

In addition, a key area of the SPP is the development and deployment of new technologies and as such, products may include developing technical documents, case studies and tech brief, marketing/implementation plans, engaging subject matter experts, developing training tools, marketing of case studies, data analysis, compilation of findings, and supporting stakeholder engagement.