For DOTs & Agencies

“We have no budget” is almost never the real problem.

The money to protect crews already exists — in reimbursement, federal grants, cooperative contracts, and research funds. What's usually missing is the line item and the mechanism. And you've likely already committed to the goal: Toward Zero Deaths sits in most board-adopted SHSPs, so funding this layer executes a decision your board already made — not a new one. This page maps every path, and gives you what to hand your budget office.

Map my agency's path See the funded routes See the proof

Approve the mechanism. The policy is already yours.

The timeline

From the first PS&E in November 2026, 23 CFR 630 Subpart K raises what federal projects are expected to document about work-zone exposure and the measures taken to control it.

The money

It's already there — reimbursement, federal grants, co-op contracts, research budgets. None of it is new capital.

Your move

Approve the mechanism, not the budget. Pick the path that fits your situation below.

Find your path to the money

Five ways RoadDefender gets funded and deployed on a DOT project. Most start without a capital request — they route funding that already exists.

Pay-item · existing project funds

Reimbursement pay-item

  • Best when: You have active or upcoming projects and want protection funded through the work itself.
  • How it works: The contractor deploys RoadDefender and bills it as a work-zone safety item; the DOT reimburses through the project — modeled on the FDOT / SWIFTT mechanism.
  • Your move: Create or approve the pay-item. No capital request — you're authorizing a line, not finding a budget.
Federal grants · may cover up to 80%

Federal grant programs

  • Best when: You want new funding that doesn't touch your operating budget.
  • How it works: ITS, HSIP, SPR, ATCMTD and SMART programs can fund worker-protection technology. The money is federal; the application runs through your grants team.
  • Your move: Point your grants team at the program. We supply the specs, cost justification, and references — we don't file for you, we give you everything to file.
Start here Pilot · lowest commitment

Research & experimental-features pilot

  • Best when: You want to prove it in your own work zones before committing budget.
  • How it works: FHWA Experimental Features and state research programs fund pilots outside the operating budget — a clean, low-risk first deployment.
  • Your move: Sponsor a pilot. The fastest path from interest to units in the field — and it builds the case for every other path here.
Co-op contract · no independent procurement

Cooperative purchasing

  • Best when: You want to buy now without running a full procurement.
  • How it works: Purchase off an already-competed cooperative contract — BuyBoard in Texas, Sourcewell and TIPS nationally. The competition is done; you buy off the vehicle.
  • Your move: Confirm your agency's co-op membership. Often faster than a state-by-state APL, and it removes the “no process” blocker entirely.
Contractor-deployed

Contractor-deployed

  • Best when: A contractor on your project can carry the deployment and you approve it.
  • How it works: A qualified contractor deploys RoadDefender under an APL or cooperative contract; the DOT approves and reimburses through the project.
  • Your move: Approve the contractor's deployment.

Keep it clean — this path works on an APL or co-op basis, so the agency approves a qualified product rather than directing work to an off-list vendor.

Approved & registered

Where RoadDefender is listed

APL and registration status expands as filings land. Don't see your state? We'll tell you the fastest qualifying path for your agency.

  • FL — APL listed
  • WI — engaged
  • MI — engaged
  • TX — engaged
  • NC — engaged
  • Your state →

From “I like this” to units in the field

You don't have to invent the path. Here's how a champion inside a DOT gets RoadDefender funded and deployed.

  1. 01

    Tell us your state

    Your state and project type tell us which mechanisms you already qualify for. Takes minutes.

  2. 02

    See it work

    A demo your budget or grants team can build a case on — and the context to write it accurately.

  3. 03

    Get the packet

    Pay-item language, cost justification, grant docs, APL references. You hand it to procurement.

  4. 04

    Deploy

    Funded, in the field, crew protected — through the mechanism that fit your agency.

Start with your state

Tell us where you are. We'll map your path to the money.

Every state's landscape is different. Give us your state and project type and we'll come back with the specific mechanism your agency can use — and the packet to move it.

Map my agency's path

Protect the crew. Fund it the way that fits.