National Historic Covered Bridge Preservation Program

ATTACHMENT 1 - GUIDANCE

NATIONAL HISTORIC COVERED BRIDGE PRESERVATION PROGRAM

YEAR	2006	2007	2008	2009
Authorization	$10M	$10M	$10M	$10M
Appropriated	$8.613M	--	--	--

FUNDING:

• Section 1804 of the of the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy For Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized $10 million from the General fund for each of the FY's 2006 through 2009 to carry out this program. These funds must be appropriated before they become available.

• For FY 2006, $8,613,000 was established through P.L. 109-115, which includes a 1% recission from the DOD Appropriation Act, P.L. 109-148.

• The Federal share of project cost is determined as defined in 23 USC 120.

ELIGIBILITY:

• Funds are available for bridge projects that meet one or more of the program goals.

• The project may be on any public roadway, including Federal, State and locally funded projects. Bridges must also satisfy the legal definition of a bridge, which requires the structure to be in excess of 20’ in total length.

• Funds are available for costs of preliminary engineering, costs of rehabilitation, preservation, and arson and vandalism prevention activities. Funds are also available for evaluating any innovative portion of the restoration work not to exceed 2 years, and to prepare a case study report.

SELECTION CRITERIA FOR BRIDGE PRESERVATION PROJECTS:

• Candidate projects will be selected utilizing input from a panel formed by the FHWA.

• Candidate projects which best meet the intent of this program will receive the highest priority. Applicants may want to provide additional information to explain how the project meets the intent of the program.

• Candidate projects ready for or near the construction phase will be given priority consideration.

• Candidate projects that leverage Federal funds with other significant public or private resources will be given preference.

• Candidate projects, which further the aims of the Historic Bridge Management Plan and/or the State Historic Preservation Plan with the endorsement of the SHPO, will be given priority consideration.

• Candidate projects proposing complete restoration and rehabilitation will be given priority over candidate projects proposing only the installation of fire/vandalism protection systems or projects that propose to move the bridge to a preservation location.

APPLICATION GUIDANCE:

• Priority Ranking - Each State, in cooperation with the FHWA Division Office, is requested to prioritize their candidate projects giving reasons for the priority.

• High cost projects - The FHWA will attempt to equitably distribute funds to applicant States in accordance with the States' priorities, however, it is to be expected that high cost project requests may be funded at less than 100 percent of a State's requested amount.

DECISION PROCESS FOR FUNDING

• All projects will be evaluated and recommended for funding by a selection panel formed by the FHWA. Awards will be made by the Director of the Office of Bridge Technology based on the recommendations of the panel.

SCHEDULE:

The following is the schedule for program activities:

• May, 2006 Call for FY 2006 projects through the Federal Register and via direct notification to the FHWA Division Offices and the State DOT’s.

• August 1, 2006: Submission deadline for FY 2006 candidate projects

• September 1, 2006: Selection of FY 2006 projects.