TIGER program awards grants for significant transportation projects
TIGER program awards grants for significant transportation projects
Transportation funding is an extensive topic and even though we’ve covered it in the past (remember this explanatory video?), there’s still more to blog about.
So, today we’re focusing on a particular funding source available for really big transportation projects – ones that, when completed, will have a significant national or regional impact.
TIGER Program
The Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program allows the U.S. Department of Transportation to appropriate funds for transportation projects around the nation.
But, this money is not just given away – there’s a lot of competition for these funds and agencies must submit an application to even be considered for a TIGER discretionary grant.
For an idea of how sought after these grants are: the U.S. Department of Transportation received 703 applications totaling $10.2 billion in requests during the most recent application round – that far exceeded the nearly $500 million in grant funding available.
Wondering what types of projects win these grants?
According to the U.S. Department of Transportation, it’s definitely not your run-of-the-mill road projects...
Each project is multi-modal, multi-jurisdictional or otherwise challenging to fund through existing programs. The TIGER program enables DOT to use a rigorous process to select projects with exceptional benefits, explore ways to deliver projects faster and save on construction costs, and make investments in our Nation's infrastructure that make communities more livable and sustainable.
Some good news!
Just today it was announced that Arizona was awarded a $21.6 million TIGER grant to rehabilitate one of the eight bridges on Interstate 15 in the Virgin River Gorge in the northwest corner of the state. It was the largest of the 47 grants awarded today and will be used to improve Virgin River Bridge No. 6 (milepost 16) on this heavily traveled corridor that connects southern California and the Rocky Mountain region.