TIGER

Last week, U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced that $500 million will be made available nationally to fund transportation projects under the seventh round of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program.

In 2015, the TIGER grant program will focus on capital projects that generate economic development and improve access to reliable, safe, and affordable transportation for both urban and rural areas, while emphasizing improved connection to employment, education, services, and other opportunities, workforce development, or community revitalization.

Since 2009, Congress has dedicated more than $4.1 billion for six rounds to fund projects. As shown in the pie chart below, a variety of project types have been awarded funding:



If you do the math on this, you will find that 270 projects, an average of 45 projects a year, have been funded in the previous six years of the program – out of tens of thousands of projects that have been submitted. In previous years, Southeast Michigan has received funding for projects such as the M-1 Streetcar and to fix two badly deteriorating bridges in Ann Arbor.

Here are some important facts to consider if you are going to apply for a TIGER grant this year:

• Only states, local or tribal governments, or MPOs can apply.
• The funding is limited in this round to capital projects – no planning applications.
• For projects located in urban areas, the minimum award is $10 million. This means that the minimum total cost for a project located in an urban area must be $12.5 million to meet match requirements.
• The minimum award is $1 million for projects located in rural areas.
• Pre-applications must be submitted by 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 4, 2015. Final applications must be submitted through www.Grants.gov by 11:59 p.m. on June 5, 2015.

Much more information is available at http://www.dot.gov/tiger, including webinars and other information to help you develop a competitive application. You can also get information from SEMCOG’s website at www.semcog.org, or call us for assistance.

It is not a lot of money and it is very competitive, but in today’s climate, you have to turn over every stone in the quest for transportation funding.