Today, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood announced the recipients of the fourth round of the TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant program. Nearly $500 million will go to fund the 47 transportation projects in 34 states plus the District of Columbia. Many projects are not eligible for other kinds of federal funding or have difficulty finding funding due to their regional or multi-state nature.
In four rounds of DOT TIGER grants, $3.1 billion has been invested in 218 projects that span all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The extremely popular and competitive grant program has been consistently overwhelmed by applications.
Secretary LaHood said, “TIGER projects mean good transportation jobs today and a stronger economic future for the nation.” Over $120 million of this year’s TIGER funds will go to critical rural transportation projects.
For fiscal year 2013, another $500 million for the TIGER program was approved by the full Senate Appropriations Committee last month. The House Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development Appropriations Subcommittee has not included funding for TIGER in their spending bill.
For more information, visit DOT’s TIGER website.