Nevada gets $47 million in federal highway funds

The Nevada Department of Transportation has secured $46.8 million in additional federal highway spending authority for statewide road projects through the redistribution of Federal Highway Administration fiscal year-end funds. It marks the largest amount of such funds obtained by Nevada in a single year.

The federal dollars help with continuing to fund certain road projects throughout the state by offsetting a portion of state transportation funding deficits created by a pandemic-related reduction in travel and gasoline tax revenue. The added federal spending authority will also help with major projects in neighboring Clark County.

Known as the August Redistribution, the FHWA annually reassigns transportation funding authority from states unable to utilize the full amount of funding originally authorized to them, as well as from federal transportation grant and loan programs that were underutilized in the current fiscal year. The funds are then redistributed to states demonstrating projects that are ready to go and meet all federal funding requirements.

NDOT, in order to qualify, demonstrated that it will fully utilize authorized federal transportation funds in fiscal year 2020, as well as demonstrate current projects that fit all the requirements for receiving additional federal funding redistribution.

“In the last 17 years, we have brought more than $290 million in additional federal funding obligation home for vital Nevada transportation projects,” NDOT Director Kristina Swallow said. “This is about putting more federal dollars to work here in Nevada. I thank our financial management staff for ensuring that the state continually utilizes all available funding for important transportation projects.”

Information on major NDOT road projects is available at nevadadot.com. All planned state and regional road projects are available for viewing at estip.nevadadot.com