DOT Announces $57 Billion in TIGER Grant Applications

The U.S. Department of Transportation announced that it has received 1381 applications requesting $56.9 billion in funding for a variety of transportation projects through its TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) discretionary grant program.  The TIGER grants were created in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 and provided $1.5 billion for the program. The deadline for applications was September 15, 2009, and the deadline for announcing the successful submittals is February 17, 2010, although Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said the decisions will be made by mid-January. Applications were received from all fifty states. Of the nearly $57 billion in grant requests, 771 (57%), totaling over $32 billion, were for highway and bridge projects; 220 (16%), totaling $10.7 billion, were for transit projects; 125 (9%), totaling $5.6 billion, were for rail projects; and 96 (7%), totaling $3.38 billion, were for port projects. Funds can be awarded to state and local governments or transit agencies on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or a region. Project size is limited to no more than $300 million and no more than 20% of the funds can go to any single state. DOT has also said that projects seeking over $100 million will be subject to an economic cost-benefit analysis. State matching requirements are waived and priority is given to projects that are projected for completion within 3 years.