Transportation Alternatives Program

The Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) is a competitive grant program using federal transportation funds under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) to improve Michigan's intermodal transportation system. The program's goal is to support place-based economic development, offer safe alternative transportation options, promote walkability, and develop a safe, attractive, and environmentally sound multimodal network across Michigan communities.

Eligible direct applicants include county road commissions, cities, villages, regional transportation authorities, transit agencies, state and federal natural resource or public land agencies, nonprofits administering local transportation safety programs, and federally recognized tribal governments. Non-eligible entities such as townships, trail groups, and downtown development authorities must partner with an eligible public agency having jurisdiction over the right-of-way. Applicants must demonstrate legal property ownership or permanent easements, show capacity to manage engineering and cost overruns locally, and commit to operating and maintaining the constructed facility in perpetuity.

Funding supports capital construction of nonmotorized facilities (shared-use paths, bike lanes, sidewalks, boardwalks, pedestrian bridges), pedestrian safety improvements and traffic calming in historic downtowns, Safe Routes to School infrastructure and programs, transit-related nonmotorized access, and rehabilitation of historic transportation facilities listed on or eligible for the National Register of Historic Places. Ineligible costs include preliminary and construction engineering, property acquisition or legal costs, general road paving or maintenance, utility relocation for convenience, movable items, and purely aesthetic features.

Applications for Statewide TAP may be submitted online at any time via the MDOT Grant System (MGS) accessible through MILogin, with applications evaluated across typically three committee review cycles each year. Prior to submitting, applicants must engage the regional MDOT grant coordinator, conduct documented public involvement, and obtain required letters of support from affected MPOs or MDOT Transportation Service Centers (TSCs). Submissions require detailed engineer cost estimates generated in MERL format, plan view and cross-section drawings, location maps, photos, and legislative resolutions committing match funding and long-term maintenance. Approved projects receive a Conditional Commitment (CC) before advancing to engineering reviews with MDOT's Local Agency Program (LAP) and bid letting.