The Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST) established the Transportation Alternatives (TA) Set Aside Program as part of the Surface Transportation Block Grant. The TA program provides funding for a variety of alternative transportation projects and is codified in 23 USC section 133(h).

TxDOT's Public Transportation Division (PTN) administers the TA funding for population areas of 200,000 or less. Metropolitan Planning Organizations are responsible for administering TA funding in urbanized areas with populations greater than 200,000. The Texas Transportation Commission authorized TxDOT TA program rules in 2016, limiting federal TA funding for construction only and limiting eligible TA activities to construction of bicycle and pedestrian infrastructure.

These Transportation Alternatives projects (TA Project) may involve the acquisition, management, and disposition of real property, and the relocation of families, individuals, and businesses. To the extent that they do, they are governed by the general requirements of the Federal-aid program found in titles 23 and 49 of the CFR, except as specified below.