LIFTS Program
Linking Iowas Freight Transportation System (LIFTS) Program Guidelines
Almost every product that you use, consume or that is grown or manufactured navigates a global, multimodal, interconnected freight transportation system. Yet traditional funding sources for modes other than highways, as well as the links connecting the various modes, are limited or underfunded. The LIFTS program is a grant funding opportunity to improve Iowa’s freight transportation system and will focus on projects not typically funded through highway funding programs.
The LIFTS program seeks to address the gaps in multimodal funding to assist in bolstering the freight transportation system - be that by truck, train, barge, airplane, or multiple modes. Products grown or made in Iowa take a journey on multiple modes of transportation around the United States and the world. Efficient, diverse, and cost-effective freight transportation is critical to the health of Iowa’s businesses, communities, and economy.
The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) (signed in 2021, also known as the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act -IIJA) includes multimodal freight projects for federal transportation funding through the National Highway Freight Program (NHFP). Up to thirty percent of Iowa’s NHFP apportionment may be used on freight intermodal or freight rail projects. The Iowa Transportation Commission has chosen to award up to ten percent of Iowa’s NHFP apportionment through the administration of LIFTS, a competitive grant application program. The program will award $1.7 million in this funding cycle.
Program Overview
Linking Iowa's Freight Transportation System (LIFTS) Project Application (Form 291320)