Solicitation Procedure

Each year, a memorandum is sent from the FHWA Headquarters Office of Bridge Technology to the FHWA Division Offices requesting the submission of candidate projects for a given fiscal year's funding. This solicitation is also published on the IBRD Website at www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/ibrd/. The State DOTs coordinate with local and Federal agencies, universities and colleges, private sector entities, and nonprofit organizations within their respective States in order to develop viable candidate projects. The State DOTs submit the candidate applications to the FHWA Division Offices. After review and consultation with the DOT, the Division Office submits the acceptable candidate projects ONLINE at www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/ibrd/application/.

Submission Requirements

Only State DOTs may submit applications for funding under this program. A prescribed format for a project submission is provided in the format of a project application form, and the following information should be included to properly evaluate the candidate projects. Those applications that do not include this information are considered incomplete and are rejected.

• State in which the project is located;
• Ranking of the project as determined by the State DOT, if more than one project is submitted;
• County in which the project is located;
• Congressional District in which the project is located;
• Name of Congressional Representative as of the date of application in whose district the project is located;
• Structure Name & Location - Provide the bridge name (if appropriate) and describe the specific location of the project, including route number/name and mileposts (if applicable), and feature(s) crossed by the bridge;
• Structure Description - Provide a description of the structure including type (e.g., continuous prestressed concrete box girder), number of spans, total length, and total width (out to out);
• Innovation - Specify the innovation (e.g., SCC, crack free decks, ASR prevention and mitigation, deep foundation techniques, rapid method of QC/QA for foundations and walls, techniques to mitigate stream instability and scour, and /or investigation of bridges with unknown foundations.) that is being used in the project;
• Proposed Work - Describe the specific application of the innovation proposed in this particular request, and whether this is a complete project or part of a larger project;
• Program Goals - The State's submission should show how the application of the innovation would meet one or more of the IBRD program goals;
• Letting Date - The proposed letting date for the main project should be specified, in which the proposed candidate is a part;
• Estimated Costs - Provide the estimated cost of the project as follows: cost of the entire project; cost of the innovative portion of the projects, as well as preliminary engineering costs associated with the innovative portion of the project; and the cost of proposed activities to monitor and document the performance of the innovative application;
• Amount of Federal IBRD Funds Requested - Indicate the amount of Federal IBRD funds being requested; and
• Commitment of Other Funds - Indicate the amounts and sources of any private or other public funding being provided as the IBRD part of this project. Only indicate those amounts of funding having documented commitments. The submission must include written confirmation of these commitments from the entity controlling the funds.

Application Guidance

• Priority ranking - Each State, in cooperation with the FHWA Division Office, is requested to prioritize their candidate projects.
• Funding for repeated applications - The States are encouraged not to submit candidate projects, which essentially duplicate a previous project using the same material in the same type of application if that original project was funded with IBRC/IBRD funds.
• High cost projects - Subject to special considerations, high cost projects may be funded at less than 100% of a State's requested amount.

Decision Process for Funding

Projects are screened for eligibility first by the FHWA Division Office and then evaluated by the Headquarters IBRD selection panel. The States are expected to build the projects for which IBRD funds are awarded or as advised in the annual solicitation memorandum.

State Department of Transportation Responsibilities

• Coordinate with State, local, and Federal agencies, universities and colleges, private sector entities and nonprofit organizations within the State to develop viable candidate projects;
• Ensure that the applications for candidate projects meet the submission requirements;
• Establish priorities for other candidate projects; and
• Submit completed applications to the local FHWA division office in a timely manner so that the submission deadline can be met.

FHWA Division Office Responsibilities

• Provide the solicitation memorandum and the program information to the State DOTs;
• Request candidate projects be submitted by the State to the FHWA division office in time to meet the submission deadline established in the solicitation;
• Help applicants complete information required in the application form;
• Review and prioritize all candidate applications submitted by the State prior to sending them to the FHWA Headquarters to ensure that they are complete and meet the submission requirements;
• Submit the candidate applications to FHWA Headquarters by the established submission deadline. Submission of these applications will be by ONLINE submission only;
• Record required application data in the IBRD online database via the IBRD Website at www.fhwa.dot.gov/bridge/ibrd/application/.

FHWA Headquarters Program Office Responsibilities

• Request candidates from the States through the annual solicitation memorandum;
• Review candidate project submissions and compile program and project information for preparation of the allocation plan;
• Submit the allocation plan to the Federal Highway Administrator for approving final project selection; and
• Allocate funds for the selected projects.