By Ron Thaniel
October 12, 2009

The U.S. Department of Transportation received nearly 1,400 applications from all 50 states vying for a share of $1.5 billion in Recovery funds for transportation projects that show significant economic promise and promote livability and sustainability.

The TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) Discretionary Grant program was created in ARRA to finance significant performance-driven projects and those that involve multiple jurisdictions or modes.

Of the $57 billion in TIGER grants requested, nearly half of the applications were for sustainable and multimodal transportation projects such as transit, railroad, and port infrastructure.

USDOT has designed an evaluation process that will require projects seeking over $100 million to undertake an economic benefit-cost analysis. The required analysis will consider factors such as fuel and travel time savings, carbon emission reductions and economic and public health benefits. Also, USDOT will use a cross-modal evaluation process where teams from each of the major modes – highways, transit, rail, maritime and aviation – will work together evaluating a broad cross'section of projects.

Grants may be awarded to state and local governments, including transit agencies, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations, tribal governments and multi'state or multi-jurisdictional applicants.

“Through the TIGER grants we will begin to seriously address the 21st century transportation challenges of improving our environment, the livability of our communities, enhancing safety while strengthening our economy, said U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.”

Looking beyond the Recovery Act, is the TIGER Grant Program providing a glimpse into the Obama Administration’s vision for the next surface transportation authorization? A look into a transformational authorization where rigid formulas, which have divided and pitted one mode against another – with separate funding for each type of need, are relics of Interstate Highway System era. By making local governments eligible to receive awards, is this the primer for a new federal authorization in which cities have more say, and greater flexibility to invest in transportation projects that confront energy and climate challenges, expand transit access, and reverse decades of underinvestment? LaHood said last month in Chicago, “We also want to allow counties and cities to work together to develop regional plans reflecting both regional and national priorities. Then we’d fund them directly.”

LaHood has committed to announcing all of the projects by January of 2010.

The federal surface transportation programs, SAFETEA-LU, started FY10 under a one-month continuing resolution (CR) because the House and Senate failed to reach an agreement on the length of the extension prior to the September 30 expiration of the law.

The House, under the leadership of Transportation and Infrastructure Chairman James L. Oberstar (MN), who remains determined to get his bill authorized before the end of the year, approved a three-month extension on September 23. The Senate’s schedule the last week of September did not permit sufficient time to bring up the extension and substitute the 18-month language as approved by the three authorizing committees and supported by the Obama Administration.

There are a number of issues with running the nation’s surface transportation programs under a CR; however, the most important is that the CR provides less money than the extension would. The CR will provide only $2.033 in federal-aid highway authority for state formula apportionments. The House and Senate authorized extensions would have provided $3.041 billion per month.

SAFETEA-LU (Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users) was signed into law in 2005. The prior law, Transportation Equity Act for the 21st Century (TEA-21), was extended 12 times over two years.