Eight state DOT projects receive federal grants to explore alternative Highway Trust Fund revenue

Updated Sep 3, 2016

highway-traffic-generic-2The Federal Highway Administration announced eight projects that have been awarded a combined $14.2 million in Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives (STSFA) grants to investigate “alternative revenue mechanisms” as means of sustaining the Highway Trust Fund.

Last year’s Fixing America’s Surface Transportation (FAST) Act established the STSFA. The program is designed to fund projects that “test the design, implementation and acceptance of user-based” non-traditional funding methods.

“We’re thinking ahead about ways to fund our highway system and be equipped for the nation’s economic future,” says Federal Highway Administrator Gregory Nadeau. “It’s a system people rely upon for their jobs and essential services, for businesses to serve their customers and for freight shippers to deliver their goods.”

Projects receiving grants include:

  • $750,000 – Road User Charge (RUC) using pay-at-the pump/ charging stations – California Department of Transportation
  • $1.49 million – User fees based with on-board mileage counters in collaboration with members of the I-95 Corridor Coalition – Delaware Department of Transportation
  • $3.99 million – User fee collection based on manual and automated odometer readings at inspection stations – Hawaii Department of Transportation
  • $300,000 – Use of Mobility-as-a-Service providers (MaaS) as the revenue collection mechanism – Minnesota Department of Transportation
  • $250,000 – Implementation a new registration fee schedule based on estimated miles per gallon – Missouri Department of Transportation
  • $2.1 million – Improvements to Oregon’s existing road usage charge program, OReGO – Oregon Department of Transportation
  • $1.5 million – Establishing the consistency, compatibility and interoperability in road user charging for a regional system in collaboration with members of the Western Road User Charge Consortium – Oregon Department of Transportation
  • $3.85 million – Testing critical elements of interoperable, multi-jurisdictional alternative user-based revenue collection systems; piloting methods of road usage reporting with Washington drivers – Washington State Department of Transportation