Infra Insight Blog

On June 15, 2026, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced nearly $47 million in funding to help public agencies explore innovative public-private partnership (P3) opportunities across 27 states. Through the Build America Bureau’s Innovative Finance and Asset Concession (IFAC) Grant Program, USDOT is providing public agencies with resources to evaluate assets, identify project opportunities, and advance infrastructure planning.

The IFAC Grant Program is a USDOT federal grant initiative administered by the Build America Bureau and authorized by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, Pub. L. 117–58, 135 Stat. 429. The program provides funding for public agencies to assess existing assets, unlock their value, and explore innovative financing, alternative delivery, and P3 opportunities for projects eligible under the Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act.  Eligible applicants include state, tribal, or local governments; special purpose public authorities; or agencies chartered by a state, tribal, or local government.

The IFAC Grant Program offers two types of grants to help public entities build the expertise and resources needed to advance transportation project opportunities.  First, technical assistance grants enable recipients to build organizational capacity and identify a portfolio of underutilized assets by hiring qualified employees or procuring advisors.  Second, expert services grants enable recipients to procure expert professionals in connection with the development of a specific asset or assets. These grants are not intended to fund construction directly. Rather, they help public agencies evaluate and prepare projects that are financially viable, attractive to private investment, and positioned for successful delivery.

USDOT recently awarded 45 grants, with several notable awards:

1. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development – $1,000,000 to conduct an asset scan and evaluate its project pipeline and existing assets.
2. Maryland Transit Administration – $1,000,000 to evaluate state-, city-, and county-owned properties and conduct an innovative financing analysis to identify potential funding approaches.
3. Oxnard Harbor District, California – $1,857,654 to conduct an asset scan, evaluate innovative delivery models, including asset concessions, and build the capacity needed to advance planning and development of a multilevel on-port vehicle parking structure to support roll-on/roll-off operations.
4. Pennsylvania Department of Transportation – $1.25 million to explore P3 opportunities for high-occupancy toll lanes on Interstate 279/579 to ease congestion and improve safety.

Programs like the IFAC Grant Program demonstrate the role P3s can play in advancing significant public infrastructure development, particularly as public entities continue to face funding challenges. By combining public oversight with private investment, innovation, and expertise, P3s can help move critical projects from concept to completion. While the IFAC Grant Program is only one part of the broader infrastructure funding landscape, it represents an important investment tool to help public agencies develop more finance-ready projects.