Federal and State funding is allocated for each phase of project development and delivery – Preliminary Engineering (PE), Right of Way (ROW), Utilities (UTIL), and Construction (CON). Authorization from the Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) is the approval to move forward with the phase of work requested. Authorization is required prior to incurring any costs that are reimbursable for each project phase (PE, ROW, UTIL, and CON), which should include costs incurred for NCDOT oversight activities.
Each phase of funding authorization has different deliverables as outlined in the table below. Each phase must be programmed in the STIP in the correct Federal Fiscal Year (FFY) before funding authorization can be requested.
FUNDING
AUTHORIZATION
PHASE |
DELIVERABLES |
WHAT CANNOT OCCUR PRIOR
TO
AUTHORIZATION? |
PRELIMINARY ENGINEERING (PE)
| - Executed Agreement
- Estimate of PE Costs
| Execution of Professional Engineering Firm (PEF) Contract
|
| RIGHT OF WAY (ROW) | | Execution of Right of Way Services Contract Or Execution of a Task Order for Right of Way Services (under PEF contract) Acquisition of ROW
|
| UTILITIES (UTIL) | - Executed Agreement
- Signed Environmental Document or Consultation*
- Approved UTIL Plans
- Estimate of UTIL Relocation Costs
| UTIL Relocation
|
CONSTRUCTION (CON)
| - Executed Agreement
- Signed Environmental Document or Consultation*
- ROW/Utility/Railroad Certification
- Approved Plans and Contract Proposal
- Estimate of CON Costs
| Advertisement of CON Contracts Execution of Contract Administration (CA)/ Construction Engineering and Inspection (CEI) Contract
|
For more information on these deliverables, please refer to the respective section of this Handbook.
*Must be less than 1-year old to be valid.
Requesting Funding Authorization
When the Local Programs Management Office (LPMO) Project Manager determines that the deliverables listed in the table above have been provided and all items have been approved, then the LPMO will send an e-mail that allows submittal of a Change Request for Funding Authorization.
Timeline for Funding Authorization
Once the LPMO receives a Change Request for Funding Authorization and approves it, the request goes through several internal steps and then is submitted to FHWA for review and approval. The entire process usually takes approximately 4-6 weeks (per funding request).
Exceptions
There are certain steps that may be accomplished prior to obtaining funding authorization for the phase of work. Contact the LPMO for clarification if you have questions.
-
Preliminary
Engineering
NCDOT will allow solicitation and selection of a Professional Engineering Firm (PEF) and negotiation of a cost estimate prior to PE Funding Authorization; however, the LGA must not execute a contract with the selected firm until funds are authorized. For projects where an LGA is using an on-call contract, solicitation and execution of a Master Agreement may occur prior to receiving
PE Funding Authorization; however, the PE funds should be authorized before the LGA assigns a task order and enters into a cost agreement with the PEF. See
Professional Services, Contract Types for more information.
-
Right
of
Way
An LGA may acquire ROW services under the PEF solicitation. In addition, some work that may be needed to develop an estimate of ROW costs may occur under the PE phase.
-
Construction
An LGA may advertise, select, and negotiate a contract for
Contract Administration (CA)/Construction Engineering and Inspection (CEI) Services prior to receiving CON Funding Authorization; however, the LGA should not execute a contract with the selected firm until the funds are authorized.
- Funds must be authorized in the FFY in which they are programmed. The FFY runs from October 1 to September 30. For example, funds programmed in FFY 2026 must be authorized between October 1, 2025 and September 30, 2026.
- Schedule changes are required when funding cannot be authorized in the programmed FY. Schedule changes can take 3-6 months to be implemented. Pay attention to milestones and contact the NCDOT Division Project Manager if a schedule change needs to be submitted.
- Once funds are authorized, the clock starts with FHWA. If no Reimbursement requests are received within 6 months of authorization, then the project is determined inactive and funding may be unobligated.
- You must receive notification, in writing, when funds are authorized, to proceed with that phase of work. Do not initiate any work until notification that the change request for funding authorization has been approved in the
Enterprise Business Services (EBS) Portal. A letter will be attached to the change request with more details.
- NCDOT has full oversight and responsibility of all LAPs established by the Stewardship and Oversight Agreement between FHWA and NCDOT (23 CFR 635.105(a) & (b)). NCDOT costs for design plan review, project coordination/ consultation, reimbursement processing, etc. will be charged against the project; therefore, it is important to factor those costs into the overall budget. NCDOT estimates this will be approximately 10% of the awarded project funding. (Please note that 10% is an estimate and it could be more or less than 10%).
