SMART grants have ended. Pilots that relied on them need a new funding path.
Congress reallocated about $205 million in unspent SMART funds in the FY2026 appropriations act. Existing grants continue; no new funding rounds will be issued.
The Strengthening Mobility and Revolutionizing Transportation (SMART) program, created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act with $100 million a year for fiscal years 2022 to 2026, funded planning, prototyping and early deployment of transportation technology.
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2026 (H.R. 7148) reallocates $204,912,000 in unobligated SMART balances, and no new notices of funding will be issued. Existing agreements, including 122 Stage 1 and seven Stage 2 grants, will be honored.
ESS view: agencies that planned to pilot AI-assisted operations through SMART should look to other programs and their own budgets, and should design pilots that prove their value against historical data, in shadow mode, before seeking deployment funding.