Local Freight Impact Fund applications being accepted
Wednesday, September 29, 2021
for $30.1 million in FY22 grants
Program provides funds to improve local roads and bridges with heavy truck traffic
(Trenton) – The New Jersey Department of Transportation (NJDOT) today announced the grant solicitation period for the Fiscal Year 2022 Local Freight Impact Fund program is open, with applications being accepted through November 26, 2021.
“Our state and regional economies require an integrated transportation network that depends on safe truck routes to efficiently move goods to and from New Jersey’s seaports, airports, and rail yards,” NJDOT Commissioner Diane Gutierrez-Scaccetti said. “The Local Freight Impact Fund provides grants to municipalities and counties to make improvements to local roads and bridges that carry commercial truck traffic to ensure our infrastructure can meet current and future demands.”
The Local Freight Impact Fund (LFIF) is a competitive $30.1 million program, which was created as part of the Transportation Trust Fund (TTF) reauthorization in October 2016. The program helps New Jersey’s municipalities and counties fund projects that emphasize and enhance the safe movement of large truck traffic, renew aging structures that carry large truck traffic, promote economic development, and support new transportation opportunities.
Under the program, projects that fall into four categories are eligible for funding:
- Pavement Preservation - to improve pavement conditions in support of freight travel on municipal/county transportation infrastructure.
- Truck Safety and Mobility - to improve large truck access, routing and mobility along the municipal/county roadway system.
- Bridge Preservation - to improve bridge ratings/conditions in support of freight travel on municipal/county transportation infrastructure.
- New Construction - to promote new construction in support of freight travel on municipal/county transportation infrastructure.
The grants are administered by the NJDOT Division of Local Aid and Economic Development. NJDOT staff evaluate projects using a variety of criteria including: existing conditions, overall traffic volume, percentage of large truck traffic, crash frequency, connectivity to freight nodes, among others.