2025 ITA ANNUAL MEETING I ONE VOICE, MANY NATIONS

The 2025 Intertribal Transportation Association is just over three weeks away! Contribute to the advancement of Tribal Transportation. Register now to secure your place and be part of the movement towards a more robust and connected Indian Country!

RURAL AND TRIBAL ASSISTANCE PILOT PROGRAM

DEADLINE: October 8, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET [The application portal opened on September 8, 2025, and will close on October 8, 2025, at 11:59 PM ET.]

DESCRIPTION: The Rural and Tribal Assistance Pilot Program (RTA) Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) provides up to $54.2 million in no-match grants on a first-come, first-serve basis to support legal, technical, and financial advisors to help advance infrastructure projects in rural and tribal communities. This amended NOFO combines Fiscal Years (FY) 2024 and 2025 program funds, with a $20 million set-aside for Tribes. 

NOTE: Though this funding opportunity is available until October 8, as of September 16, over 700 applications had been submitted. The funds requested thus far significantly exceed the first come first served program's total available funds.

NOFO: Available HERE

TRIBAL TRANSPORTATION SAFETY PROGRAM SAFETY FUND

DEADLINE: January 15, 2026, at 11:59 PM ET

DESCRIPTION: Over $40 million is available to help Tribal governments improve roadways and address transportation safety issues through the Tribal Transportation Program Safety Fund (TTPSF). FHWA will prioritize projects that incorporate safety into existing infrastructure. Strategic safety planning, data collection and analysis, and the implementation of safety projects are objectives that contribute to the achievement of the TTPSF goal. Successful TTPSF projects leverage resources, encourage partnerships, result from strategic safety planning, and have the data to support the applicants’ approach in addressing the prevention and reduction of death or serious injuries in transportation-related crashes.

NOFO: Available HERE

TTP BRIDGE PROGRAM

DEADLINE: Any time during the year, federally recognized Indian Tribes may submit an application for eligible TTP bridges for planning, design, engineering, preconstruction, construction, and inspection of new or replacement bridges; replace, rehabilitate, seismically retrofit, paint, apply calcium magnesium acetate, sodium acetate/formate, or other environmentally acceptable, minimally corrosive anti-icing and deicing composition; or implement any countermeasure for TTP bridges classified as in poor condition, having a low load capacity, or needing highway geometric improvements, including multiple-pipe culverts.

DESCRIPTION: The TTP Bridge Program is focused on improving the number of TTP bridges in poor condition.

QUESTIONS? Contact Chris W. Riley, PE., Acting TTP Bridge Program Manager at chris.w.riley@dot.gov

TRIBAL HIGH PRIORITY PROJECTS (HPP) PROGRAM

DEADLINE: Any time during the year, a Tribe can submit an application package for Tribal HPP Program funding. On January 31, the applications received will be reviewed for eligibility, evaluated, and ranked for funding. Applications submitted after January 31 will be collected for the next fiscal year funding cycle.

DESCRIPTION: This program is a nationwide priority program for: (1) An Indian Tribe or governmental subdivision of an Indian Tribe whose annual allocation of funding under the Tribal Transportation Program is insufficient to complete the highest priority project of the Indian Tribe or governmental subdivision of an Indian Tribe; or (2) Any Indian Tribe that has an emergency or disaster with respect to a transportation facility.

TRIBAL AND RURAL TRANSIT MINI-CONFERENCE

DATE: October 14 - 16

LOCATION: Hotel Alex Johnson I 523 6th Street Rapid City, SD 57701

COST: $250

ORGANIZATION: National RTAP

DESCRIPTION: Join the National Rural Transit Assistance Program (NRTAP) in Rapid City for three days of transit training.

The mini-conference kicks off with a plenary roundtable discussion of agency best practices and challenges, then continues with 90-minute breakout sessions covering a wide range of transit-specific and hot topics by experts in Tribal and rural transit program development, including, but not limited to:

• Transit Planning I and II
• Long range transportation planning
• National Environmental Policy Act I and II
• Procurement and National RTAP’s ProcurementPRO
• Grant writing
• The latest research on right-sizing your fleets
• How transit agencies can “do more with less” in this new environment of uncertain future federal funding

2025 TOWARD ZERO DEATHS CONFERENCE

DATE: October 21 - 22

LOCATION: Mystic Lake Center I 2400 Mystic Lake Blvd. NW Prior Lake, MN

COST: $150

ORGANIZATION: Minnesota Towards Zero Deaths

DESCRIPTION: This conference provides a forum for sharing information on best practices in engineering, enforcement, education, and emergency medical/health services and for identifying new approaches to reducing the number of traffic fatalities and life-changing injuries on Minnesota roads.

2025 ITA ANNUAL MEETING - ONE VOICE, MANY NATIONS

DATE: October 27 - 29

LOCATION: OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark I Oklahoma City, OK

COST: $385 (mail in) or $448.24 (Eventbrite)

HOTEL: Room Block LINK

EVENT FLYER: Click HERE

DESCRIPTION: Experience a gathering where sovereignty meets the road. The 2025 Intertribal Transportation Association (ITA) Annual Meeting brings together Tribal leaders, transportation professionals, and advocates to strengthen our shared voice, build meaningful connections, and stay ahead of the latest developments shaping Tribal transportation programs, policies, and funding opportunities. This event, hosted at the OKANA Resort & Indoor Waterpark in Oklahoma City, is dedicated to fostering excellence, effectiveness, and unity in Tribal Transportation. Honor differences, share knowledge, stand united, and collaboratively chart a stronger, more connected path forward for Indian Country.

IMPLEMENTING THE SAFE SYSTEM APPROACH COURSE

DATE: October 8 - November 19, 2025

LOCATION: Online

ORGANIZATION: Institute of Transportation Engineers (ITE)

DESCRIPTION: The Implementing the Safe System Approach course is a new certificate-based blending learning course that will provide an in-depth understanding of the Safe System Approach and its application. The Safe System Approach is a holistic and strategic level approach to achieving zero transportation-related severe injuries and fatalities. At its foundation, the Safe System Approach acknowledges that humans make mistakes and are vulnerable to crash impacts. This approach is a change from traditional safety practice and is based on shared responsibility, redundancy, and proactive action across five elements: Safe Road Users, Safe Vehicles, Safe Roads, Safe Speeds, and Post-Crash Care. The intended audience for the course is transportation planners, engineers, safety data analysts, public health professionals, and other key stakeholders with shared responsibility within the Safe System. 

This online blending learning course will consist of pre-recorded modules delivered by subject matter experts and four live instructor-led discussion sessions. The first live session features an introduction to Safe System Theory and Practice, including an overview of new legislation and programs.

ROAD SAFETY AUDITS - FROM CONCEPTS TO RESULTS

DATE: October 13 - 23, 2025

LOCATION: Online

ORGANIZATION: International Road Federation (IRF)

Road safety audit and inspections serve the common purpose of identifying risk factors related to road design or traffic control that may lead to crashes, or make crashes more severe. In many cases, they also assist network highway operators and city traffic departments in identifying engineering weaknesses and hazardous locations, even in the absence of robust traffic injury data.

Almost 85% of countries surveyed by the World Health Organization currently report implementing road safety audits or inspections, and it is important for all road safety professionals to understand how to design and implement them correctly for maximum safety benefits.

PEDESTRIAN SAFETY MONTH

October is Pedestrian Safety Month. Did you know that AI/AN populations are at a greater risk towards pedestrian fatalities than any other racial or ethnic group and have exhibited increasingly high death rates? On average, a pedestrian dies every 72 minutes, and one is injured every 8 minutes in traffic crashes. 68,244 pedestrians were injured in 2023, and 7,314 pedestrians were killed. Pedestrian fatalities accounted for 18% of all traffic fatalities in 2023. This highlights a critical safety issue that impacts everyone. NHTSA urges drivers to slow down and be alert for pedestrians. 

For more information, click here.

NATIONAL TEEN DRIVER SAFETY WEEK



October 19 - 25 is National Teen Driver Safety Week. Help teen drivers make smart choices to stay safe on the road. NHTSA offers parents and guardians tips on how to talk about safer driving. These tips include discussions on how to influence positive behaviors and how to approach dangerous driving behaviors such as alcohol and other drug use, lack of seat belt use, distracted driving, speeding, or driving with passengers. Surveys show that teens whose parents set firm rules for driving typically engaged in less risky driving behaviors and were involved in fewer crashes. 

For more information,visit www.nhtsa.gov/road-safety/teen-driving. 

October 7 - 9 I TTPCC Meeting CANCELLED

October 8 - 11 I American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE) 2025 Convention

Seattle Convention Center I Information

October 14 - 16 I National RTAP Tribal and Rural Transit Mini-Conference

Rapid City, SD I Information & Registration

October 21 - 23 I RIFDS Training

NIPTC I 1011 Indian School Rd NW Suite 254, Albuquerque, NM 87104 I Information

October 27 - 29 I ITA Annual Meeting

OKANA Resort I Oklahoma City, OK

October 28 - 30 I 2025 AASHTO Safety Summit and Peer Exchange

Hyatt Regency New Orleans I Information & Registration

October 28 - 30 I Safe Routes to School Virtual Summit 2025

Information & Registration

November 16 - 21 I NCAI 82nd Annual Convention & Marketplace

Seattle Convention Center I Seattle, WA I ncai.org

December 7 - 10 I National RTAP Conference

Hyatt Regency Austin I Austin, TX I nationalrtap.org

December 16 I OTTC Meeting I 10 AM - 11AM

ODOT I 200 N.E 21st Street Oklahoma City, OK 73105

December 16 I TAB Meeting I 11 AM - 12 PM

ODOT I 200 N.E 21st Street Oklahoma City, OK 73105

March 23 - 24, 2026 I Native Land Conference

Mystic Lake, Prior Lake, Minnesota I iltf.org