U.S. Department of Transportation Announces 2013 TIGER Grants

Earlier this month, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced the most recent set of awards for the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) 2013 discretionary grant program. Fifty-two projects spanning 37 states were selected to receive an estimated total of $474 million through a competitive process. Twenty-five projects, representing a combined investment of $123.4 million, are in rural areas.

The TIGER program provides federal funding for large, multi-modal transportation projects. It seeks to use federal funds to leverage investments from both the public and private sectors, including metropolitan planning organizations and transit agencies. The program received nearly 600 applications from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam. This latest round of awards will support $1.8 billion in overall project spending.

TIGER grants have the potential to spur job creation and economic development while providing communities with access to transportation opportunities. For example, the Atlanta Beltline Corridor is a 33-mile system of trails, transit, and parks surrounding downtown Atlanta that connects more than 45 communities throughout the city and region. $18 million in TIGER funding will support this project by helping to build two miles of the trail and will provide residents in primarily low-income and minority communities with easier access to other modes of transportation, such as bus routes and railroads, as well as important institutions, including schools and parks.

For more information about the latest round of TIGER grants, including a link to the entire list of funded projects, please visit the DOT's website here.