The Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) this week announced the availability of up to $17.8 million over five years to re-establish seven Tribal Technical Assistance Program (TTAP) Centers across the nation.
The goal of the TTAP centers is to help tribal governments administer and manage their transportation programs and systems, according to a news release from FHWA.
“The Tribal Technical Assistance Program Centers will help tribal nations build capacity within their organizations, deliver important training resources, and help Tribal communities plan, construct, and maintain their transportation networks,” Arlando Teller, Deputy Assistant Secretary for Tribal Affairs, said in a statement.
The TTAP centers are designed to deliver the tribal component of FHWA’s Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP), FWHA says. The centers will provide Native American and Alaska Native tribal governments with training, technical assistance, and technology services that best meet the needs of the tribal community.
Under the TTAP, there will be seven TTAP centers serving the 12 Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) regions and associated tribes. The seven TTAP centers expired in 2017 when FHWA began a pilot that established one, centralized, nationwide TTAP center. Following the conclusion of that pilot and feedback from stakeholders, the FHWA says it intends to reinstitute the regional delivery model to better meet the needs of tribal stakeholders.
FHWA says additional funding was provided for tribal governments under the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) and tribes are eligible for several new discretionary programs.
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SOURCE: Federal Highway Administration
