By Ron Thaniel
July 18, 2011

$527 Million Available for Third Round of TIGER

Pre-Applications Should Be Submitted by October 3;

Final Applications Will Be Due On or Before October 31

U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) Secretary Ray LaHood announced on June 30 the third round of the highly popular Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) competitive grant program.

As with the TIGER and TIGER II programs, funds for the FY2011 TIGER program are to be awarded on a competitive basis for projects that will have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or a region.

Under TIGER III, $527 million is available to states, cities, transit agencies, port authorities, Metropolitan Planning Organizations and multi-jurisdictional entities – for capital investments in highway or bridge projects, public transportation projects, passenger and freight rail transportation projects, port infrastructure investments, and intermodal facilities.

In general, this round is similar to last year, with a few significant differences:

1 Unlike the FY 2010 Appropriations Act, the FY 2011 Continuing Appropriations Act does not provide any funding for projects solely for the planning, preparation, or design of capital projects (TIGER Planning Grants); however, these activities may be eligible to the extent that they are part of an overall construction project that receives TIGER Discretionary Grants funding;

2 Any applicant that is applying for a TIGER TIFIA Payment must also submit a TIFIA letter of interest along with their application.

3 Eligible applicants may submit, as a lead applicant, no more than three applications for consideration.

The DOT will give priority to projects that have a significant impact on the following long-term outcomes:

• State of Good Repair: Improving the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, with particular emphasis on projects that minimize life-cycle costs.

• Economic Competitiveness: Contributing to the economic competitiveness of the United States over the medium’ to long-term.

• Livability: Fostering livable communities through place-based policies and investments that increase transportation choices and access to transportation services for people in communities across the United States.

• Sustainability: Improving energy efficiency, reducing dependence on oil, reducing greenhouse gas emissions and benefitting the environment.

• Safety: Improving the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and systems.

Grants may be not less than $10 million (except in rural areas) and not greater than $200 million.

Up to $150 million of the $527 million available for TIGER may be used for TIGER TIFIA Payments. Based on the average subsidy cost of the existing TIFIA portfolio, $150 million in TIGER TIFIA Payments could support approximately $1.5 billion in Federal credit assistance.

As USDOT did last year, all applicants are to submit a “pre-application” prior to submitting a final application. The pre-application system will open on August 22. All pre-applications should be submitted by October 3 at 5 p.m. EST. Final applications will be due on or before October 31, 5 p.m. EST. The grants will be award early 2012.

The TIGER grant program has awarded $2.1 billion to 126 transportation projects in all 50 states and the District of Columbia. During the previous two rounds, USDOT received more than 2,500 applications requesting more than $79 billion for transportation projects across the country.

For more information online, visit the website http://www.dot.gov/tiger/.