The Timber for Transit Program is designed to advance the use of wood-based materials and composites (advanced wood materials) through applied research and demonstration projects that showcase the suitability of such materials to transportation and transportation adjacent infrastructure.
Donor Name: Northern Border Regional Commission (NBRC)
State: Maine, New Hampshire, New York, Vermont
County: Selected Counties
Type of Grant: Grant
Deadline: 03/07/2025
Size of the Grant: $500,000 to $1 million
Grant Duration: 3 Years
Details:
Highly competitive projects will demonstrate and widely promote the utility of high value forest products (e.g. glued laminated timber, cross laminated timber, composite materials, etc.) in transportation infrastructure and planning for extreme weather readiness. Transportation infrastructure shall mean construction, alteration, or repair, for the purpose of transporting people and goods, including fixed installations and rights of way necessary for transporting from one point to another, including infrastructure that improves economic mobility for individuals, and may include roads, railways, airways, waterways, canals and terminals such as airports, railway stations, bus stations, parking, refueling depots, and seaports.
TIMBER FOR TRANSIT will support a broad range of feasibility and implementation projects including, but not limited to, state or regional inventory assessments of the suitability of wood components to address needed transportation infrastructure improvements and/or new construction; architectural and engineering designs, cost analyses, and permitting necessary for implementation of transportation infrastructure projects; transportation infrastructure projects which utilize commercialized wood products and advanced wood materials; design and construction of pilot and demonstration projects that showcase the capabilities and benefits of utilizing advanced wood materials in transportation infrastructure; and transportation-adjacent structures that utilize advanced wood materials. Basic research projects will not be considered. Preference will be given to applied research and demonstration projects with a strong connection to industry.
TIMBER FOR TRANSIT will give preference to proposals that:
- Commit to utilizing domestically sourced timber
- Demonstrate evidence of planning for extreme weather readiness, including but not limited to carbon capture, increased frequency and intensity of storm events, and sea level rise.
- Utilize projects as a tool for university and industry education and training
- Demonstrates alignment with state and community initiatives.
- Include promotion/publication/marketing as part of their project deliverables
- Support, benefit, or engage communities that are impacted by specific socio-economic indicators.
Funding Information
The Northern Border Regional Commission may award up to $25,000,000 over the next three years for projects that demonstrate the capabilities of wood in transportation infrastructure.
- Feasibility Projects will be awarded a minimum of $250,000, and a maximum of $1,000,000.
- Implementation Projects will be awarded a minimum of $1,000,000 and a maximum of $5,000,000.
- Feasibility & Implementation: Projects which address both feasibility and implementation as described above will be awarded a minimum of $1MM and a maximum of $5MM.
Transportation Infrastructure shall mean construction, alteration, or repair of physical transport facilities, systems and structures, including fixed installations and rights of way necessary for transporting from one point to another, that:
- are open to the general public for use,
- facilitate reliable movement of people and goods, and
- influence local and regional economies.
Grant Period
Projects funded by NBRC have a three-year period of performance.
Eligibility Criteria
The NBRC Economic and Infrastructure funding is available to:
- State governments of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, and New York
- Local governments (village, town, city, and county)
- Secondary and career technical centers
- Other political subdivisions of States (regional planning commissions, authorities of the state)
- Non-profit entities Designated 501(c) and exempt from taxation under 501(a). 501(c) non-profit entities must be able to demonstrate they have established operations in a member state and they have federal grant experience related to economic development.
- Federally recognized Indian Tribes.
- Only projects within the NBRC’s service area are eligible for funding under 40 U.S.C. §15733. For 2025, the NBRC service area is:
- Maine: Androscoggin, Aroostook, Franklin, Hancock, Kennebec, Knox, Lincoln, Oxford, Penobscot, Piscataquis, Somerset, Waldo, and Washington counties.
- New Hampshire: Belknap, Carroll, Cheshire, Coös, Grafton, Merrimack and Sullivan counties.
- New York: Cayuga, Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Genesee, Greene, Hamilton, Herkimer, Jefferson, Lewis, Livingston, Madison, Montgomery, Niagara, Oneida, Orleans, Oswego, Rensselaer, St. Lawrence, Saratoga, Schenectady, Schoharie, Seneca, Sullivan, Warren, Washington, Wayne, Wyoming and Yates counties.
- Vermont: all counties within the State.
For more information, visit NBRC.
