Railroad Crossing Elimination (RCE) Grant Program

Track 1—Project Planning 
Track 2—Project Development 
Track 3—Final Design (FD)/Construction 

Applicants must provide at least 20% of the total project costs via non-federal matching contributions. 

Eligible Projects: (include, but are not limited to) 

• Grade separation or closure; including through the use of a bridge, embankment, tunnel, or combination thereof 
  
• Track relocation 
  
• Improvement or installation of protective devices, signals, signs, or other measures that improve safety, provided that such activities are related to a separation or relocation project 
  
• Other means to improve the safety and mobility of people and goods at highway-rail grade crossings, including technological solutions 
  
• A group of related projects described above that would collectively improve the mobility of people and goods 
  
• Planning, environmental reviews, and design of an eligible project described above 

FRA will give preference to eligible projects that:

1. Result in one or more grade separated crossings; 
   
2. Close grade crossings through Track relocation; or 
   
3. Result in corridor-wide grade crossing improvements. 

• States; District of Columbia; Puerto Rico; and other U.S. Territories
• Political Subdivisions of a State
• Federally Recognized Indian Tribes
• Units of Local Government or Groups of Local Governments
• Public Port Authorities
• Metropolitan Planning Organizations (MPOs)
• Groups of Eligible Entities

Planning Project Set-Aside: at least 3% of the total grant funds available, or $38,281,580; and of this set-aside, $10,840,000 will be made available for planning projects located in Rural Areas or on Tribal Lands. 

Rural or Tribal Set-Aside: at least 20% of the total grant funds available, or $229,305,600; and of this set-aside, at least 5%, or $11,465,280 will be made available for projects in counties of 20 or fewer residents per square mile according to the most recent decennial census. 
FRA will consider a project to be in a Rural Area or on Tribal Lands if all or the majority of the project (determined by geographic location[s] where the majority of the project funds will be spent) is located in a Rural Area or on Tribal Lands. 

Highway-Rail Grade Crossing Safety Information and Education Projects Set-Aside: at least $3,000,000 
Applicants are strongly encouraged to use FRA’s Justice40 Rail Explorer Tool when assessing their proposed project’s potential benefits and burdens, and which communities would ultimately experience them. This tool provides GIS information on existing rail infrastructure, communities, and pollution levels based on the proposed project’s location, which can be used to note how a project’s location scores across several different categories.  

Applications for multiple Lifecycle Stages of a Capital Project are not precluded, but FRA generally expects applicants to identify one of the three Project Tracks. 
Evaluation Criteria of Project Benefits:

• Improves safety at Highway-Rail or Pathway-Rail Grade Crossings; 
  
• Proposes to grade, separate, eliminate, or close one or more Highway-Rail or Pathway-Rail Grade Crossings; 
  
• Improves the mobility of both people and goods; 
  
• Reduces emissions; protects the environment; and provides community benefit, including noise reduction; 
  
• Improves access to emergency services and communities; 
  
• Provides economic benefit; and 
  
• Uses contracting incentives to employ local labor, to the extent permissible under federal law