The Build America Bureau (BAB) is a division within the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) that serves as a centralized resource for financing and delivering transportation infrastructure projects across the country.

The Bureau acts as a one-stop shop for states, municipalities, transit agencies, and private entities seeking federal support for transportation projects. It helps streamline access to federal credit programs, funding opportunities, and supportive technical assistance.

The Regional Infrastructure Accelerator (RIA) program is a U.S. Department of Transportation Build America Bureau funded grant program that helps to accelerate infrastructure project delivery through technical assistance regarding how project sponsors can best combine DOT credit tools, funding programs, and innovative project delivery approaches.

The Tampa Bay RIA, led by the Tampa Bay Partnership, partners with local and regional agencies to leverage innovative financing tools, alternative delivery models, expert technical assistance, and collaborative strategies to help communities within Tampa Bay overcome infrastructure challenges through project acceleration thereby seizing upon the region’s latent economic opportunities.

1. Enhance Regional Collaboration: Foster strong partnerships among local, regional, state, and federal stakeholders to create a shared transportation vision and identify opportune RIA projects and initiatives that:

(i) address local and regional mobility, safety, and sustainability concerns,

(ii) improve transportation networks, and

(iii) spur economic development and job creation in the Tampa Bay region.

2. Strengthen Project Delivery Capabilities: Provide resources to identify opportunities to utilize innovative delivery methods, project bundling, and streamlined processes to move projects from planning to completion more rapidly, ultimately reducing delays and improving efficiency.
3. Seek Innovative Funding and Financing Opportunities: Provide resources to identify alternative funding tools —including public–private partnerships, public asset monetization, value capture (i.e., Community Redevelopment Areas, Mobility Fees, Impact Fees, Special Assessment Districts, Community Development Districts) and other revenue sources —and financing tools to unlock private leverage capital and opportunities with the USDOT BAB to accelerate project delivery.

Accelerated Project Delivery-RIAs help communities advance and accelerate infrastructure projects by:

• Providing technical assistance
• Streamlining complex multi-agency permitting and regulatory processes
• Supporting innovative delivery methods like public-private partnerships (P3s)

Access to Innovative Financing-RIAs guide communities in leveraging federal credit programs such as:

• The Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innocation Act (TIFIA) and Railroad Rehabilitation and Improvement Financing (RRIF) loans provide low-interest, long-term financing options.
• Private Activity Bonds (PABs) This can make large-scale projects more financially feasible and reduce reliance on local tax revenues.

Capacity Building-RIAs support expertise and resources that many local governments may lack, including:

• Financial modeling
• Risk analysis
• Stakeholder coordination This builds long-term institutional knowledge and planning capacity.

Support for Regional Collaboration-RIAs encourage multi-jurisdictional cooperation, helping communities:

• Bundle smaller projects into larger, fundable packages
• Align infrastructure investments with regional economic goals
• Share best practices across cities and counties

Project Highlights | Build America Bureau

The Tampa Bay Partnership is the lead convener of the Tampa Bay RIA. The Tampa Bay Partnership is a regional coalition of business and nonprofit leaders dedicated to advancing the economic competitiveness and inclusive growth of the Tampa Bay region.

Rather than funding construction directly, RIA grants focus on early-stage project development, especially for projects that may benefit from innovative financing and alternative delivery, including:

• Feasibility studies and conceptual design
• Cost estimation and risk analysis
• Traffic and revenue modeling
• Environmental and regulatory compliance analysis
• Public-private partnership (P3) structuring
• Stakeholder engagement and governance planning
• Economic impact assessments

The Tampa Bay RIA is funded through a Build America Bureau Grant under their Regional Infrastructure Accelerator (RIA) Grant Program. The Build America Bureau is a division of the USDOT.

The Tampa Bay RIA will identify projects that may benefit from alternative project delivery and innovative financing, and how to advance the selected projects using these strategies. The final report will include a comprehensive set of findings and recommendations for the short list of projects, as well as suggested next steps for implementation of the associated innovative financing and delivery strategies.

The official site for project information is TampaBayRia.com. The website will provide project updates as well schedule and project milestone documentation.

Projects eligible for consideration are those projects that might benefit from Build America Bureau tools. These may include but are not limited to:

• highways,
• transit systems,
• freight facilities,
• transit-oriented developments
• intermodal facilities
• airports, and
• seaports

This initial phase of the Tampa Bay RIA will be completed in June of 2026.

The Tampa Bay RIA encompasses the counties of Hillsborough, Pasco, and Pinellas as well as the entities that contribute to the region’s transportation network including:

• Airports
• Cities
• Counties
• FDOT
• MPOs/TPOs
• Ports
• Private Entities
• Toll Agencies
• Transit Agencies