23 U.S.C. § 177 — Neighborhood access and equity grant program

(a) In general. Congress gives the Federal Highway Administration $1,893,000,000 for fiscal year 2022. This money stays available until September 30, 2026. The Administrator uses it for competitive grants to the entities listed in (b). The grants must be used for three things: (1) Projects that make walking safer and improve affordable transportation access. These projects must fit the local context. They can: (A) remove, clean up, or reuse a facility described in (c)(1); (B) replace that facility with one that is at street level or has lower speeds; (C) retrofit or cap that facility; (D) build or improve complete streets, multiuse trails, regional greenways, or networks for walking and biking; or (E) provide affordable access to important destinations, public spaces, or transportation hubs. (2) Projects that reduce harm to people or the environment caused by a facility described in (c)(2), in a disadvantaged or underserved community. This can include: (A) noise barriers; (B) technology and infrastructure that cuts greenhouse gases and air pollution from transportation; (C) natural infrastructure or permeable pavement that manages stormwater runoff; (D) infrastructure that reduces extreme heat in the area around the road; or (E) safety improvements for people walking, biking, or otherwise vulnerable on the road. (3) Planning and capacity-building work in disadvantaged or underserved communities. This can include: (A) tracking air quality, greenhouse gas emissions, extreme-heat or pollution hot spots, gaps in tree cover, or flood-prone roads; (B) studying transportation equity and pollution, and writing anti-displacement policies or community benefit agreements; (C) early planning work for projects that qualify under this subsection; (D) getting more people from these communities involved in transportation planning; or (E) getting or providing technical help with any of this work. (b) Eligible entities. The following can apply for grants under (a): (1) a State; (2) a local government; (3) a political subdivision of a State; (4) an entity described in section 207(m)(1)(E); (5) a U.S. territory; (6) a special-purpose district or public authority that handles transportation; (7) a metropolitan planning organization; or (8) for the planning grants in (a)(3) only, a nonprofit or college that has partnered with one of the entities above. (c) Facility described. A "facility" under this section is either: (1) a surface transportation facility whose high speed, grade separation, or design blocks people from moving through their community; or (2) a surface transportation facility that pollutes the air, makes noise, causes stormwater problems, or otherwise burdens a disadvantaged or underserved community. (d) Investment in economically disadvantaged communities. (1) Congress gives the Administrator another $1,262,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, available until September 30, 2026, for grants in the communities described in (2). These grants serve the same purposes and follow the same rules as the grants in (a). (2) A qualifying community must: (A) be economically disadvantaged, underserved, or in an area of persistent poverty; (B) have, or plan to have, a community benefits agreement with the community's representatives; (C) have an anti-displacement policy, community land trust, or community advisory board; or (D) have a plan to hire local residents for the project. (e) Administration. (1) A project funded under (a) or (d) is treated as a Federal-aid highway project. (2) If a State transportation department handles the grant money, it must follow the U.S. Department of Transportation's Disadvantaged Business Enterprise Program rules. (f) Cost share. The federal government normally pays up to 80% of a project's cost. For a project in a disadvantaged or underserved community, the federal government can pay up to 100%. (g) Technical assistance. Congress gives the Administrator $50,000,000 for fiscal year 2022, available until September 30, 2026, for: (1) guidance, technical help, templates, training, or tools that help local governments contract, design, and deliver projects efficiently; (2) subgrants that help local governments build the capacity to deliver surface transportation projects themselves; and (3) the Federal Highway Administration's own operating and administrative costs. (h) Limitations. Money from this section: (1) does not count against any cap on total Federal-aid highway funding; and (2) cannot be used to add new through-travel lanes for cars carrying only one person.