[Federal Register Volume 91, Number 35 (Monday, February 23, 2026)]
[Notices]
[Pages 8576-8577]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2026-03496]
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DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
Office of the Secretary
[Docket No. DOT-OST-2026-0298]
Rural Opportunities To Use Transportation for Economic Success
Initiative: Request for Information
AGENCY: Office of the Secretary, Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Notice; request for information.
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SUMMARY: DOT's Rural Opportunities to Use Transportation for Economic
Success (ROUTES) Initiative addresses the transportation infrastructure
needs of rural and Tribal communities by developing user-friendly tools
and information, aggregating DOT resources, and providing direct
technical assistance to connect rural and Tribal communities with the
funding, financing, and outreach resources available. This notice
requests comments on unmet transportation infrastructure needs in rural
communities, barriers that rural communities face in addressing those
needs, and opportunities for ROUTES to improve its services and
technical assistance to support rural and Tribal stakeholders.
DATES: Comments must be received on or before 60 days from posting of
this notice. DOT will consider comments filed after this date to the
extent practicable.
ADDRESSES: Comments should refer to the docket number above and be
submitted by one of the following methods:
Electronic Submission: Go to http://www.regulations.gov.
Search by using the docket number (provided above). Follow the
instructions for submitting comments on the electronic docket site.
Mail: Docket Management Facility, U.S. Department of
Transportation, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West Building Ground Floor,
Room PL-401, Washington, DC 20590-0001.
Hand Delivery or Courier: 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE, West
Building Ground Floor, Room PL-401, Washington, DC, between 9 a.m. and
5 p.m. ET, Monday through Friday, except Federal Holidays.
Instructions: All submissions must include the agency name and
docket number.
Note: All comments received, including any personal information,
will be posted without change to the docket and will be accessible
to the public at http://www.regulations.gov. You should not include
information in your comment that you do not want to be made public.
Input submitted online via http://www.regulations.gov is not
immediately posted to the site. It may take several business days
before your submission is posted.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Visit http://www.transportation.gov/rural, or contact the ROUTES Office at [email protected].
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
Background
Rural transportation networks are critical for domestic use and
international export, as well as the quality of life for all Americans.
Large volumes of freight either originate in rural areas or are
transported through rural areas via the nation's highways, railways,
airways, waterways, and pipelines to support the American economy.
However, rural transportation networks face unique challenges in
safety, usage, and condition.\1\ Despite only 20 percent of the U.S.
population living in rural areas,\2\ rural roads account for 68 percent
of our nation's total lane miles, including nearly half of all truck
vehicle miles traveled.\3\ Moreover, 41 percent of all roadway
fatalities occur on rural roads, where the fatality rate is 1.54 times
higher than on urban roads.\4\ The condition of transportation
infrastructure varies between urban and rural areas; for example, rural
bridges that are closed or posted require American travelers to make
detours nearly twice as long as those necessitated by their urban
counterparts.\5\ Delays can also occur due to trains going over public
at-grade crossings--60 percent of which are on rural roads.\6\
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\1\ Bureau of Transportation Statistics, Rural Transportation
Statistics, March 2025, https://www.bts.gov/rural.
\2\ United States Census Bureau, American Community Survey
(ACS), 5-Year Estimates, 2022.
\3\ U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway
Administration, Office of Highway Information Management, Highway
Statistics 2022, Table HM-60.
\4\ National Center for Statistics and Analysis. Rural/urban
traffic fatalities: 2023 data (Traffic Safety Facts. Report No. DOT
HS 813 728), June 2025. National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration.
\5\ U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway
Administration, National Bridge Inventory (NBI).
\6\ U.S. Department of Transportation, Federal Highway
Administration and Federal Railroad Administration. Highway-Rail
Crossing Handbook, 3rd Edition. July 2019.
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In response to these challenges, ROUTES was established in October
2019 with DOT Order 5050.1 and codified in Section 25010 of the
Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act in November 2021 to support the
needs of rural America by advancing rural transportation policy. ROUTES
addresses rural transportation infrastructure needs by developing user-
friendly tools and information, aggregating DOT resources, and
providing direct technical assistance to connect rural communities with
the funding, financing, and outreach resources available. Specifically,
ROUTES is directed to (1) improve analysis of projects from rural and
Tribal communities applying for Department grants, including ensuring
that project costs, local resources, and the larger benefits to the
people and the economy of the United States are appropriately
considered; and (2) provide rural and Tribal communities with technical
assistance for meeting the transportation infrastructure investment
needs of the United States in a financially sustainable manner.
ROUTES is actively engaged with rural and Tribal communities
through outreach, technical assistance, and resource and policy
development. On November 27, 2019, ROUTES published a notice \7\
requesting information to improve technical assistance for rural
stakeholders applying for DOT competitive grant and credit programs. In
response to comments received to the notice and other stakeholder
feedback regarding grant applications, ROUTES developed the Rural Grant
Applicant Toolkit \8\ to increase understanding of DOT competitive
grant programs and the Federal funding process. Additionally, ROUTES
launched the DOT Competitive Grants Dashboard \9\ to help users
determine which grants best suit their transportation infrastructure
needs. To address safety concerns raised by stakeholders, ROUTES
facilitated
[[Page 8577]]
rural safety peer exchanges, supported development of rural safety
countermeasures \10\ to promote information sharing and capacity
building, and established the internal USDOT Safety Council--Rural
Subcommittee to coordinate activities and information among modal
administrations that advance rural transportation safety. See https://www.transportation.gov/rural for more information on ROUTES activities.
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\7\ 84 FR 65459; Docket No. DOT-OST-2019-0167.
\8\ Visit the Rural Grant Applicant Toolkit at https://www.transportation.gov/rural/grant-toolkit.
\9\ Visit the DOT Competitive Grants Dashboard at https://www.transportation.gov/grants/dashboard.
\10\ In support of the USDOT Safety Council--Rural Subcommittee,
the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the Federal
Highway Administration developed a compilation of safety
countermeasures for stakeholders looking to address challenges in
rural road safety. These resources are available at https://www.transportation.gov/rural/safety.
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To continue providing the best technical assistance possible,
ROUTES is again requesting information from rural stakeholders on rural
issues and needs.
Request for Information
In this notice, DOT requests information directly from
knowledgeable entities and the public to inform rural transportation
policy and the development of future ROUTES activities. DOT seeks
comments that illustrate rural communities' needs and experiences with
transportation infrastructure, including the condition of that
infrastructure, its effect on safety and road user behavior, and how
its use affects the community. For the purpose of this notice,
``transportation'' includes road, rail, transit, aviation, maritime,
pipelines, and other forms of transportation; ``infrastructure''
includes all capital investment in transportation such as structures,
equipment, and rolling stock. This includes comments and data
pertaining to current unmet needs in rural transportation, barriers
rural communities face in addressing these transportation needs,
stakeholders' experiences with applying to and using DOT competitive
grant and credit programs, and opportunities for DOT to improve its
services and technical assistance to rural communities within the
limits of statutory requirements. This request for comments includes
solicitation from Tribal Nations and communities in rural areas.
In addition, DOT specifically requests comments and data in
response to the questions below. To the extent possible, DOT seeks
relevant technical information, regulatory citations, data, or other
evidence to support the comments received.
A. Identifying Unmet Needs in Rural Transportation
1. What challenges and opportunities do rural areas face related to
the following:
(a) infrastructure condition (e.g., age of infrastructure or
equipment, bridge closures or postings, weather resiliency);
(b) usage (e.g., frequency or availability of public
transportation, freight transportation, pedestrian walkways and
shoulders);
(c) safety (e.g., transportation-related injuries and fatalities,
roadway departure, at-grade rail crossings, railroad trespassing,
wildlife, transportation of hazardous materials, motorcycle and all-
terrain vehicle safety, experiences of nonmotorized road users, post-
crash care);
(d) technology (e.g., broadband, cellular coverage, backup for GPS
time and navigation, automated vehicles, drones, digital
infrastructure);
2. What types of infrastructure projects, services, or technology
are most needed in rural communities to meet national transportation
priorities such as safety and economic competitiveness? What types of
projects or services do rural communities find most challenging to
fund? What are barriers to funding these projects?
3. How could improved multimodal passenger and freight
transportation--including road, rail, transit, aviation, maritime,
pipelines, and other forms of transportation--better contribute to the
economic competitiveness of rural communities? What industries
(including tourism) are most in need of these improvements?
4. What data has been used to inform rural transportation decision
making and grant development, and what additional data would have been
helpful but was nonexistent or difficult to access?
5. How can rural communities better engage with Federal, Tribal,
State, and regional entities--such as other Federal agencies, State
DOTs, regional planning organizations, and metropolitan planning
organizations--to maintain and upgrade local transportation?
B. Addressing Unmet Needs Through DOT Grants and Resources
1. ROUTES supports rural and Tribal stakeholders through
development of technical assistance resources and opportunities, such
as toolkits, dashboards, peer exchanges, webinars, and newsletters.
(See https://www.transportation.gov/rural for more information on
ROUTES activities.) What additional resources or direct technical
assistance could ROUTES provide to support rural communities? Of the
existing resources ROUTES provides, what is most useful?
2. What challenges do rural communities face when applying for DOT
grants and financial assistance (e.g., project prioritization,
eligibility requirements, data needs, funding match)? What challenges
do rural communities encounter after being awarded a DOT grant or
financial assistance (e.g., project grant agreements, environmental
analyses, permitting, reporting requirements, workforce availability,
weather, inflation)?
3. What types of technical assistance would be effective for
navigating the Federal grant process, including pre-award activities,
project delivery, and project evaluation?
4. How do the definitions of ``rural'' across DOT grant programs
\11\ reflect the reality of rural communities? How do these definitions
influence the allocation of rural funding?
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\11\ The definition of ``rural'' varies across the Department.
ROUTES developed the Rural Eligibility Map to help prospective
applicants determine eligibility. The map is available at https://www.transportation.gov/rural/eligibility.
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Public Comment
DOT invites comments from knowledgeable entities and the public
interested in rural transportation policy and ROUTES activities.
Comments may be submitted and viewed at Docket Number DOT-OST-2026-0298
at http://www.regulations.gov, or at the address given above under
ADDRESSES. Comments must be received on or before 60 days from posting
of this notice to receive full consideration by DOT. After 60 days from
posting of this notice, comments will continue to be available for
viewing by the public.
Issued in Washington, DC, on February 19, 2026, under authority
delegated at 49 CFR 1.25(a).
Loren A. Smith, Jr.,
Deputy Assistant Secretary of Transportation for Policy.
[FR Doc. 2026-03496 Filed 2-20-26; 8:45 am]
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