Nebraska recently launched its first federal assistance program to help state and local governments apply for federal grants.

The Nebraska Infrastructure Hub was designed to make it easier for communities to apply for federal funding from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act of 2021.

Jodi Gibson of the Nebraska Department of Transportation said a report from last year ranked Nebraska 48th in the number of discretionary grant awards and applications.

“We’re at the bottom, right? And that’s why our goal with the Infrastructure Hub is to help our agencies apply for these grants and hopefully get more money here in Nebraska,” she said.

She said many small communities do not have staff familiar with applying for grants, which can make obtaining government funding difficult.

“If you talk to any of these agencies across the state, their biggest concern is, ‘We don’t have enough money to fund the maintenance of our roads and bridges, and this just fills that gap,'” she said.

The Infrastructure Hub includes a portal where local agencies can enter basic information about their projects and receive the grants they qualify for.

The program also has two full-time staff members and additional on-call consultants who can assist with more complicated aspects of government grant applications, such as cost-benefit analyses.

In 2024, the Nebraska Department of Transportation has already awarded nearly $134 million in discretionary funds for projects in the state — more than double the total disbursed last year.