Government

Stimulus: Proposals Pour In to DOT For TIGER Grants

Demand far exceeds supply for the Dept. of Transportation’ $1.5 billion in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) discretionary grants. DOT reported on Sept. 25 that its preliminary tally shows it received 1,381 applications for the grants from all 50 states and other jurisdictions. Those requests seek a stunning total of $56.9 billion. The grant program, established by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, is aimed at big-impact projects.

DOT says 771 of the TIGER applications are for highway projects, requesting a total of $32.2 billion. Transit ranks second, with 220 applications totaling $10.7 billion. DOT Secretary Ray LaHood has said the department will announce the winners in January.

Bruce Buckley is a freelance writer and photographer based in the Washington, D.C., area.

As ENR's former Washington Bureau Chief, Tom Ichniowski wrote about the federal government since the George H.W. Bush administration, and covered at least five major highway bills. A recognized expert on government policy on infrastructure and regulation, Tom is also a Baltimore native and Orioles fan who grew up rooting for Brooks and Frank Robinson. He is a graduate of Columbia College and Columbia’s graduate school of journalism, where he once used “unrelentless” in a headline.

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