WASHINGTON, DC – The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) this week announced $10.2 million in Surface Transportation System Funding Alternatives (STSFA) grants to seven states to test new ways to finance highway and bridge projects.

The program’s goal is to allow states to test user-based alternatives to support the Highway Trust Fund, which relies primarily on the federal gas tax.

“These grants provide states with the opportunity to explore innovative new ways to help pay for infrastructure improvements and maintenance,” said Deputy Federal Highway Administrator Brandye L. Hendrickson.

The STSFA grants fund projects to test the design, implementation, and acceptance of user-based alternative revenue tools.  FHWA officials selected proposals from seven states – California, Delaware, Minnesota, Missouri, New Hampshire, Oregon, and Utah.

The seven projects will investigate and evaluate various mileage-based and road-user charges, including for trucks and automated vehicles, and the implementation and operation of the technologies at a regional level.

This is the third innovation grant MoDOT has received from the FHWA to study the future of transportation funding under the STSFA program. This week’s grant of $1.72 million follows an initial grant of $250,000 in 2017, and a second grant of $2.88 million in 2018.

MoDOT intends to use the federal grant funding to continue to work with the Missouri Department of Revenue DOR to improve the efficiency and accuracy of its data systems associated with Missouri’s registration fee system for personal vehicles. Missouri’s proposal is that the registration fee would be based on the basis of the fuel efficiency of the vehicle—measured in miles per gallon—rather than the outdated metric of “taxable horsepower” which is no longer calculated or published by vehicle manufacturers.

STSFA was established under the “Fixing America’s Surface Transportation” (FAST) Act.

 

FY 2018 STSFA Grant Selections State (other partners) Project/Description Funding California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) Exploration of California’s Road Usage Charge Program (RUC) with emerging technologies and services, such as Usage-Based Insurance (UBI), Transportation Network Companies (TNCs), and Autonomous Vehicles (AVs). $2,030,000 Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) – I-95 Corridor Coalition Use of mileage-based user fees in a multi-state region.  The project addresses the requirements for implementation, interoperability, public acceptance, and other potential hurdles across state lines. $3,028,000 Minnesota Department of Transportation (MnDOT) Demonstration of the feasibility of distance based user fees through the shared mobility model, such as Mobility-as-a-Service (MaaS) providers. $999,600 Missouri Department of Transportation (MoDOT) Deployment of innovative strategies such as a vehicle registration fee along with other used-based charges. $1,782,500 New Hampshire Department of Transportation (NHDOT) Exploration of road user charges levied in conjunction with vehicle registration fees. $250,000 Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) –  Western Road User Charge Consortium (AZ, CA, CO, ID, HI, MT, NV, OK, OR, UT, and WA) Exploration of Road Usage Charge and Automated Vehicles at both the state level and in a regional interoperable system. $950,000 Utah Department of Transportation (UDOT) Utah will pilot a road user charge program for alternative fuel vehicles including hybrid and electric vehicles. $1,250,000

 

– Missouri Department of Transportation press release –