WASHINGTON — The Department of Transportation is soliciting applicants for $500 million of grants to help finance transportation projects for public entities across the country and will hold the first of four webinars on the application process on Wednesday.
DOT also will hold a summit for current and prospective Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grantees on Thursday, April 16, at its headquarters here.
This seventh round of TIGER grants will fund capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and will be awarded on a competitive basis to projects that will have a significant impact on the nation, a region or a metropolitan area.
The TIGER grant program, since 2009, has provided a total of $4.1 billion to 342 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. The popular program has been oversubscribed since its start. DOT has received more than 6,000 applications requesting more than $124 billion around the nation for the last six rounds.
"The TIGER program has funded innovative projects, sparked new partnerships, created intermodal connections and enabled hard-to-fund projects that are changing the face of communities across the country," said DOT Secretary Anthony Foxx in announcing this latest round. "We are excited to kick off this year's competition."
The fiscal 2015 Appropriations Act, enacted in December, did not provide dedicated funding for the planning, preparation, or design of capital projects. But these activities may be eligible to the extent they are part of an overall construction project, DOT said. Grants generally can only be used for up to 80% of the costs of projects, but DOT has the discretion to fund up to 100% or a project in a rural area.
At least 20%, or $100 million, of the funds available must fund projects in rural areas. In addition, no more than $125 million, or 25%, of the grants can be awarded to projects in a single state, DOT said.
Eligible applicants for the grants include states, local governments such as cities and counties, metropolitan planning organizations, tribal governments, U.S. territories, transit agencies, port authorities, as well as other state and local political subdivisions.
The other webinars on the application process are to be held on Tuesday, April 14, Thursday, April 23, and Tuesday April 28. The April 16 summit will include panels and breakout sessions that offer technical assistance to current and prospective grantees as well as information on best practices and lessons learned.
The pre-application deadline is 11:59 eastern daylight time on May 4. Pre-applications must be filed in order for final applications to be accepted. Pre-applications include basic information about the project for which the grant is being sought, its location, and whether it is urban or rural, as well as the requested amount of the grant and expected total cost of the project.
Final applications, which are more detailed, are due by 11:59 EDT on June 5.
