Tanya Snyder | StreetsBlog USA

Map of winning projects selected by USDOT beginning in February 2010 to receive funding from the TIGER grant program. Click a pin to find out more about the project. Information and project descriptions provided in part by the USDOT, some alterations of descriptions and information by Transportation for America. Find out more from T4 America at http://t4america.org/resources/tigermap
Map of winning projects selected by USDOT beginning in February 2010 to receive funding from the TIGER grant program. Click a pin to find out more about the project. Information and project descriptions provided in part by the USDOT, some alterations of descriptions and information by Transportation for America. 

This afternoon, Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx will announce the latest round of TIGER grantsawarding $600 million among 72 transportation projects in 46 states and the District of Columbia. You can see all TIGER grants to date or just the latest round — TIGER VI — in this map from Transportation for America.

Here are a few things to know about the state of the program:

Demand for these grants still far outstrips supply. U.S. DOT received 797 eligible applications this time, up from 585 in 2013, requesting 15 times the $600 million available for the program. TIGER fills a significant void in the federal transportation program — it’s one of the only ways cities, metro regions, and transit agencies can apply directly for federal funds, bypassing state DOTs. Plus, the emphasis on non-automotive modes and the availability of small grants make it a good fit for transit improvements and bike and pedestrian projects, which can’t access other federal pots of money so easily.

27 percent of the total funding is going to transit projects. That includes…

 

  • $25 million for the construction of Richmond’s 7.6-mile Broad Street Bus Rapid Transit, which U.S DOT says “will connect transit-dependent residents to jobs and retail centers as well as spur mixed use and transit-oriented development in a city with the highest poverty rate in Virginia.”
  • $15 million for an Omaha BRT line along a corridor where 16 percent of households have no access to a vehicle.
  • $13 million and $12 million for streetcars in Providence and Detroit, respectively. Read more