The Minnesotas Department of Transportation (MnDOT) has opened the solicitation process for grants from the Local Road Improvement Program (LRIP) which provides funding assistance to local agencies and federally recognized American Indian tribes for road construction, reconstruction, or reconditioning projects.
The 2023 legislative session yielded $102.967 million in LRIP funds consisting of general obligation bonds and general fund spending.
Grants will be awarded on a competitive basis. Applications are due on Dec. 8, 2023.
The agency anticipates announcing LRIP selections by the end of March 2024, however, exact dates will depend on the number of applications received.
Based on direction from the LRIP Advisory Committee, the maximum grant award has been increased to $1.5 million for counties, state aid cities, non-state aid cities, townships, and federally recognized American Indian tribes.
MnDOT has eligibility requirements:
- Projects that have received legislatively selected appropriations (“earmarks”) or previous LRIP grants are not eligible for funding under this solicitation.
- Projects that will be under construction before the anticipated LRIP selection notifications in March 2024, are not eligible for funding under this solicitation.
- Projects should be noncontroversial and should be construction ready in 2024, 2025, or 2026.
- County applications will be evaluated against other county applications; state aid city applications against other state aid city applications; and small city/township/federally recognized American Indian tribes applications against small city/township/federally recognized American Indian tribes applications. It’s anticipated that projects from all three agency types will receive funding.
- The expected useful life of improvements must be a minimum of 10 years. Maintenance type activities such as filling potholes, blading gravel roads, and standalone ditch repairs are not eligible for LRIP.
- Items that are eligible for LRIP funds include reasonable elements associated with roadway construction, including basic landscaping and turf establishment. Landscaping planters, benches, bike racks, decorative fences, ornamental lighting, and other aesthetic treatments above the standard are generally not eligible. Other items that are not eligible include engineering, construction administration and inspection, right of way acquisition, and water main, sanitary sewer, or private utility work.
- LRIP funds cannot be used for improvements on the Trunk Highway system, including those costs that might be required from a local agency on a Trunk Highway project as per MnDOT’s Cost Participation Policy.
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Source: LMC.org
