Government

DOT Picks 5 Projects to Apply for TIFIA Loans

If the five projects are approved for the loans, the amounts probably won’t be as large as their sponsoring agencies or companies had desired. Their TIFIA loan requests total about $1.63 billion, which would require direct DOT subsidies of about $163 million.

DOT said it has $110 million in direct subsidy assistance available for TIFIA this year. That would support about $1.1 billion in loans.

TIFIA was created under the 1998 Transportation Equity Act for the 21^st Century (TEA-21).

The program has strong support in Congress. The surface transportation authorization bill that the Senate passed in March would boost direct TIFIA funding nearly tenfold, to $1 billion a year.

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.

Post a comment to this article

Join Groundbreaking Women in Construction (GWIC) in San Diego from June 14 to 16, 2026. This premier leadership conference brings together women across the construction industry to gain practical strategies, grow their network, and advance their careers. Learn from ENR-curated sessions, connect with trailblazing professionals, and walk away with tools that drive retention, innovation, and impact.

Live: June 23, 2026 at 2:00 pm EDT New market dynamics like competitive pressures and workforce evolutions are forcing construction companies to re-prioritize their investments. To strengthen cash flow, accelerate operations, and boost profits, learn how the focus now must be on optimizing digital transformation and financial management.