Secretary LaHood announces more than 70 TIGER II 
grants

Siemens rüstet das zukünftig größte Express- und Logistikzentrum Asienes mit Sortiertechnik aus Forty-two capital construction projects and 33 planning projects in 40 states will share nearly $600 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation's popular TIGER II program for major infrastructure projects ranging from highways and bridges to transit, rail and ports, Secretary Ray LaHood said Oct. 20.

Transportation Investment
Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) II received nearly 1,000 construction
grant applications for more than $19 billion from all 50 states, U.S.
territories and the District of Columbia. The tremendous demand for TIGER II
project dollars follows a similar demand for TIGER I project dollars. On
February 17, 2009, the Department announced 51 grant awards from nearly 1,500
applications for TIGER I grants nationwide. The TIGER I requests were for
almost $60 billion worth of projects, 40 times the $1.5 billion available under
that program. TIGER I dollars were made available under the American Recovery
and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

"These are innovative,
21st century projects that will change the U.S. transportation landscape by
strengthening the economy and creating jobs, reducing gridlock and providing
safe, affordable and environmentally sustainable transportation choices," said
Secretary LaHood. "Many of these projects could not have been funded without
this program."

Roughly 29 percent of
TIGER II money goes for road projects, 26 percent for transit, 20 percent for
rail projects, 16 percent for ports, four percent for bicycle and pedestrian
projects and five percent for planning projects.
 An example of projects funded
is $47.6 million to the City of Atlanta to construct a new streetcar line
connecting many of the most important downtown residential, cultural,
educational and historic centers, demonstrating the Department’s commitment to
improving quality of life in major metropolitan areas.

In addition, TIGER II
funds are being used to support a $546-million TIFIA (Transportation Infrastructure
Finance and Innovation Act) loan for the Los Angeles County Metropolitan
Transportation Authority to build the Crenshaw/LAX Light Rail Line, a key piece
of Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa’s 30/10 initiative to construct 12 major transit
projects in 10 years rather than 30, exemplifying the Department’s commitment
to bold, regional transportation projects that create jobs in the short term
while reinvesting in long term economic competitiveness and livability.

Under TIGER II, more than
$140 million is reserved for projects in rural areas.

As a competitive program,
TIGER II is able to fund the best projects from around the country. Using
merit-based evaluation criteria allows the Department of Transportation to
address some of the nation’s most critical challenges like sustainability and
economic competitiveness.

This marks the first time
that the U.S. Departments of Transportation and Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) have joined together in awarding grants for localized planning activities
that ultimately lead to projects that integrate transportation, housing and
urban development. Almost 700 applicants sought up to $35 million in TIGER II
planning grants and up to $40 million in HUD Sustainable Community Challenge
Grants. HUD’s funds can be used for localized planning efforts, such as
development around a transit stop and zone or building code updates and
improvements. The two Departments, along with assistance from the Environmental
Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Agriculture, participated in the
evaluation of the planning grant applications.

To ensure the important
investments made by the Recovery Act continue, President Obama recently
announced a comprehensive infrastructure investment plan that would be
front-loaded with $50 billion to expand and renew America’s roads, railways and
runways.

TIGER II grants were
awarded to projects that have a significant impact on the nation, a region or
metropolitan area. The projects chosen demonstrate their ability to contribute
to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition
of existing transportation facilities and systems, increase energy efficiency
and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S.
transportation facilities and/or enhance the quality of living and working
environments of communities through increased transportation choices and
connections. The Department also gave priority to projects that are expected to
create and preserve jobs quickly and stimulate rapid increases in economic activity.

A complete list of capital grant recipents is available at http://www.dot.gov/docs/tiger2grantinfo.pdf. A full list of planning grant recipients can be found at http://www.dot.gov/docs/tiger2planninggrantinfo.pdf.