Press Release - U.S. Transportation Secretary Foxx Announces $123.4 Million for 25 Rural Projects Under TIGER 2013 Program

WASHINGTON – U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx today announced that 25 rural transportation projects in 23 states will receive a total of $123.4 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation's (DOT) Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) 2013 grant rogram. Under the fifth round of the popular TIGER program, 52 transportation projects in 37 states will receive approximately $474 million in funding. Among these, nearly half support rural areas of the country.

"These transformational TIGER projects are the best argument for investment in our transportation infrastructure," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. "Residents living in our nation's rural communities need and deserve an affordable, reliable way to travel, and we are committed to ensuring that everyone – regardless of where in our country they live – has access to transportation they need to get ahead in the 21st century economy."

The highly competitive TIGER program offers one of the only federal funding possibilities for large, multi-modal projects that often are not suitable for other federal funding sources. These federal funds leverage money from private sector partners, states, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations and transit agencies. The 2013 TIGER round alone supports $1.8 billion in overall project investments.

TIGER has enjoyed overwhelming demand since its creation, a trend continued by TIGER 2013. Applications for this most recent round of grants totaled more than $9 billion, far exceeding the approximately $474 million set aside for the program. In all, the Department received 585 applications from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

The projects funded through this round of TIGER illustrate the President's goals of creating "Ladders of Opportunity," the need for a "Fix it First" approach to infrastructure, and contributing to America's economic growth. The following are examples of how TIGER supports these goals:

Fix It First: A good example is the initiative by the Vermont Agency of Transportation (VTrans), funded at $8.9 million, to upgrade rail along a segment of the Vermont Railway Northern Subdivision. VTrans will replace nine miles of old jointed rail with new, continuously welded rail, accompanied by new surfacing, ballast and ties. Upgrading the track will reduce costs for shippers and exporters served by the line and will allow expanded service in the future.

Ladders of Opportunity: A good example is the Transportation Regional Infrastructure Pedestrian System (TRIPS) in Foley, Ala., funded at $4.7 million. TIGER funds will be used to build bike lanes, shared-use paths, sidewalks and a pedestrian bridge, as well improve safety at four intersections. The project will provide safe, continuous transportation paths for walking and access to transit stops, providing Foley's residents who do not own a car or wish to drive with better access to jobs and schools.

Economic Growth: The $5 million grant to Pima, Ariz., for improvements to rail infrastructure at the Port of Tucson is an example of a project that will spur economic growth. The project will improve connections between ships and railroads serving the port by installing new high-speed rail switches that will replace manual switches, eliminating the need to slow and stop trains arriving at the port. The project also involves installing a double-loop track so the port can simultaneously load and unload grain and hopper cars. Improving ship-rail connections will enhance the port's ability to serve customers in Arizona and Mexico and improve access to markets in Asia.

On March 26, 2013, the President signed the FY 2013 Appropriations Act, which after sequestration provided approximately $474 million for Department of Transportation national infrastructure investments. Like the first four rounds, TIGER 2013 grants are for capital investments in infrastructure and are awarded on a competitive basis based on the published selection criteria. This is the fifth round of TIGER funding.

Under all five rounds combined, the TIGER program has provided more than $3.6 billion to 270 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Demand for the program outweighed available funds, and during all five rounds, the Department of Transportation received more than 5,200 applications requesting more than $114.2 billion for transportation projects across the country.

Click here for additional information on individual TIGER grants: http://www.dot.gov/tiger/