Skip to main content

Substantial demand ‘underscores need for TIGER grants’

US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced that applications to the US Department of Transportation (DOT) for its seventh round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants totalled US$9.8 billion, almost 20 times the US$500 million set aside for the program, demonstrating the continued need for transportation investment nationwide. Among the 625 applications for grants received this year, 60 per cent are road projects, 18 per cent are transit projects, and eight p
August 3, 2015 Read time: 2 mins
US Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx has announced that applications to the 324 US Department of Transportation (DOT) for its seventh round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants totalled US$9.8 billion, almost 20 times the US$500 million set aside for the program, demonstrating the continued need for transportation investment nationwide.

Among the 625 applications for grants received this year, 60 per cent are road projects, 18 per cent are transit projects, and eight per cent are rail projects; with port and bicycle-pedestrian applications each representing six per cent of the total. The Department received 625 eligible construction applications from all 50 states and U.S. territories. There were 565 such applications in 2014.

“The consistent number of high quality projects we’re unable to fund through TIGER every year demonstrates the need for Congress to act to give more communities access to this vital lifeline,” Foxx said. “That is why we proposed doubling TIGER in the Grow America Act.”

The highly competitive TIGER program, which began as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, offers federal funding possibilities for large, transformative multi-modal projects.  These federal funds leverage money from private sector partners, state and local governments, metropolitan planning organizations and transit agencies.

Since 2009, the TIGER grant program has provided a combined US$4.1 billion to 342 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  Demand has been overwhelming; during the previous six rounds, the Department received more than 6,000 applications requesting more than US$124 billion for transportation projects across the country.

For more information on companies in this article

Related Content

  • Integrated transport network proposed for Montréal
    April 25, 2016
    DPQ Infra, a subsidiary of Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec, has unveiled for its Réseau électrique métropolitain (REM), an integrated public transportation project. Under the proposal, the REM will link downtown Montréal, the South Shore, the West Island (Sainte-Anne-de-Bellevue), the North Shore (Deux-Montagnes) and the airport in a unified, fully automated, 67km light rail transit (LRT) system comprising 24 stations and operating 20 hours a day, 7 days a week. The solution proposed by CDPQ Infra wi
  • Better websites build smarter transport participation
    March 17, 2017
    Transport initiatives are gaining traction through well-designed websites. Four European smart transport-oriented websites have gained honours in the 2016 .eu Web Awards, an online competition inaugurated in 2014 to recognise the most impressive sites within the .eu internet domain in terms of their design and content. The four were among 15 finalists across all five categories of the scheme, giving the transport sector a high profile for its proactive use of sites as communications tools for driving major
  • Ohio Operation Lifesaver receives rail safety education grant
    July 20, 2015
    Ohio Operation Lifesaver, which aims end collisions, deaths and injuries at highway-rail grade crossings and along railroad rights of way, has been awarded a US$20,000 grant from Operation Lifesaver (OLI) in partnership with the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA). The state program will use the funding to spread “See Tracks? Think Train!” safety messages via radio, movie theatre advertising, digital media outreach and community events. The focus of the program will be the greater Cleveland area. The
  • Prospects for intercity transport technology
    February 1, 2012
    Magnetic levitation has been dismissed as unproven, too costly, or pie in the sky. It's time to reappraise it. With the unveiling by China (see News section, page 10) of its own, home-grown magnetic levitation train, it would be odd if politicians, policy-makers and the ITS industry did not want to take a closer look at the 'unproven' technology that is magnetic levitation. Fortunately, doing so is easy. The non-profit International Society for Maglev Transportation (The International Maglev Board) has an e