NACo submits feedback on USDOT’s rural outreach initiative

Key Takeaways

On April 23, NACo submitted a response to a Request for Information (RFI) issued by the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) on its Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic Success (ROUTES) Initiative. Given the predominantly rural nature of counties and the important role that counties play in our nation’s transportation system, NACo is uniquely positioned to provide important feedback to USDOT on this topic.

Originally stood up by former Secretary of Transportation Elaine Chao, the ROUTES Initiative seeks to assist rural communities access information, technical assistance and funding opportunities through the USDOT. Congress recognized the importance of ROUTES by codifying the program through Section 25010 of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA; PL 117-58), which passed with bipartisan support. Through this RFI, USDOT is seeking feedback from relevant stakeholders on outstanding transportation challenges facing rural communities and areas where ROUTES’ programming could more effectively meet rural community needs.

Challenges facing rural counties

More than 2,100 of America’s 3,069 counties, boroughs and parishes are considered “rural,” meaning they have populations of under 50,000 people. These rural counties collectively own hundreds of thousands of road miles and thousands of bridges, which are integral pieces of our national transportation system that moves freight and people every day. In fact, the Bureau of Transportation Statistics reports that rural America is home to only 20 percent of the population but 68 percent of all lane-miles. Additionally, 41 percent of all roadway fatalities happen on rural roads, again despite having only roughly one fifth of the population residing in rural areas.

Rural counties must tackle these disproportionate ownership and fatality numbers with limited resources and capacity. The largest source of revenue for county governments comes from property taxes, which creates challenges in low-density areas like rural counties. This problem is even more acute in those counties that are home to large sections of non-taxable federal land. County financial capacity is often further restricted by state-level preemption of revenue authority, which exists to some degree in 42 states.

Given this financial constraint, counties must work with intergovernmental and regional partners like cities, rural/regional transportation planning organizations (RTPOs), states and the federal government to maintain a safe and efficient transportation network.

Unfortunately, federal assistance is often hard for rural counties to navigate and access. Federal formula funding largely bypasses local governments, but especially ones in rural areas. While discretionary grant programs present conceptually a more level playing field, complex application processes and persistent over-subscription make it difficult for rural counties to apply for, let alone secure, grant dollars. 

NACo recommendations for ROUTES

ROUTES has helped rural counties with many of these issues by hosting webinars for rural applicants, providing toolkits to help rural communities navigating funding programs and facilitating access to technical assistance. However, NACo believes that more can be done to help rural communities with regards to federal transportation programming. Recommendations in the RFI included:

• Providing support to rural counties that are selected for grant funding as they navigate grant agreements, permitting and other requirements.
• Documenting how rural counties can meet non-federal match requirements, including by sharing best practices from past applicants and compiling federal funding sources that can be used as non-federal match.
• Working with the Office of Federal Land Highways (FLH) to provide more robust resources and outreach for rural public lands counties

Read NACo's Comment Letter

Congressional advocacy

NACo continues to advocate for rural transportation priorities on Capitol Hill as Congress works to develop the next surface transportation reauthorization bill. This includes endorsing pieces of legislation like the FLAP Reauthorization Act (S. 4135) and the MORE DOT Grants Act (S. 2619), as well as testifying in front of the House Transportation & Infrastructure Committee on rural road safety.

Additionally, NACo’s biggest priority for the surface transportation reauthorization bill, the bipartisan BASICS Act (H.R. 7437), would have significant benefits for rural counties’ ability to access federal formula transportation funding. Specifically, the BASICS Act would:

• Grow the overall share of formula funding that is “suballocated,” or made available regions for use on locally selected projects.
• Make it easier for rural counties to form RTPOs, including by providing RTPOs with guaranteed federal funding
• Strengthen coordination requirements in rural areas without existing RTPOs

NACo continues to push for the inclusion of the bipartisan BASICS Act in the next surface transportation reauthorization bill to help all counties, including rural counties, access more federal dollars for crucial road and bridge projects.

Advocate for the BASICS Act