Transportation Alternatives (TA Set-Aside or TAP)
Forecasted
Transportation Alternatives (TA Set-Aside or TAP) supports Iowa project sponsors with funding for walking, biking, trails, and community improvements to make travel safer and better connected.
Funder: Iowa Department of Transportation
Due Dates (Anticipated): October 2027 (Application deadline)
Funding Amounts: Approximately $5 million in the published statewide cycle; reimbursement up to 80% of eligible costs
Summary: Supports Iowa transportation alternatives, including pedestrian and bicycle facilities, trail connections, safe routes to school, and transportation-related community improvements.
Key Information: Sponsors must pay all costs upfront and follow federal-aid highway project development procedures.
Description
The Iowa Department of Transportation’s Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside program supports smaller-scale transportation projects across Iowa. Eligible work includes pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, recreational trails, safe routes to school, historic transportation preservation, vegetation management, and environmental mitigation addressing highway runoff or habitat connectivity. The program continues the Transportation Enhancements program established in 1991 under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act.
Funding is available through statewide and regional competitive programs. The statewide program emphasizes statewide or multi-regional impact, significant trail linkages, safe routes to school, and projects immediately adjacent to state-designated Iowa Byways. Smaller local projects generally seek funding through their Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) or Regional Planning Affiliation (RPA). Program goals include safer travel, multimodal choice, accessibility, connectivity, and a more equitable, sustainable transportation network.
