The U.S. Department of Transportation says that the amount of stimulus money requested for transportation projects in 2014 far exceeded what the department has to give.
Applications for the sixth round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program totaled $9.5 billion. That is 15 times more than the $600 million that has been allocated for grants.
The DOT received 797 applications — 36 percent more than officials received in 2013.
The TIGER program was launched in 2009, which is the same year Congress voted to bail out the auto industry. Funded granted by the program are generally used for road, rail, transit or port projects. As we explain in the Curbing Cars e-book, new streetcar systems have been a very visible benefactor of TIGER funding.
U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx said in a statement that the strong demand for TIGER grants shows that there is a persistent need for investment in U.S. transportation projects. In late April, Foxx introduced the GROW AMERICA Act, a bill that reauthorizes $5 billion in TIGER funding intended for surface transportation projects over a span of four years.
“The continued overwhelming demand for these grants demonstrates that communities want the kind of long-term funding our GROW AMERICA Act provides to build transportation projects across the country,” Foxx said.
Read more about TIGER grants and other funding sources in our e-book, available on Amazon.