Skip to main content

When the TIGER Discretionary Grants are awarded, there are going to be a lot of unhappy people

Tonight I was curious in knowing what other projects have other state's applied for the $1.5 billion in TIGER Discretionary Funds that will be awarded next month.  My original thinking was that it was only one project per state, and it would be a neat idea to maybe research and blog about them  Bzzzztttt, was I wrong!

The USDOT received 1380, yes 1380, applications from all 50 states, plus Guam, the Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia.  The total amount of requests total $56.5 billion.  That is nearly 38 times the amount that will be awarded!!!!  No wonder why the final decisions have been delayed.

Texas led with 125 applications - followed closely by California (117), and Florida (115).  The least amount of applications came from Hawaii with only 1. New Hampshire, South Dakota, and North Dakota only had two applications.

It appears that any organization could apply for the TIGER Grants - and that would explain why SCDOT encouraged Horry County to put in an application for upgrading SC 22 to Interstate standards a number of months ago.

The amount of money asked for in each applications was varied also. 514 of the 1380 (37.2%) applications were asking for amounts of less than $20 million.  Over 56% (785) were applications for $20-100 million in funds.  The rest, 81 applications, were from $100 billion to the maximum of $300 billion.

Applications came in for highway improvements, transit improvements, rail improvements, and other.  (Most likely pedestrian and bike projects.)

Check out the USDOT's two page summary of the TIGER Grant applications here.

I'm going to start looking into what projects applied for grant money and what they are for.

One of the first ones I did find was an application by NYSDOT for completing the final upgrades for the US 15/I-99 project.  The amount of the application was for $38 million.

Exit question: What are some of the projects being applied for in your state?  And which of them are the most pressing? So leave a comment.

Comments

Unknown saidā€¦
Adam,

I linked to this item on my Inside Lane page.

http://www.inside-lane.com/2010/01/28/blog-tiger-grant-applications-1380-requests-totaling-56-5-billion-for-only-1-5-billion-available-colorado-total-requests-1-1-billion/

Kevin Flynn
Adam saidā€¦
Kevin,

Thanks! I find it amazing how many applications were made for such few funds. It will be interesting to see what projects are awarded the grants and for how much.

If one project gets the maximum of $300 million, that's 20% of the total money available. It will be interesting to see the reactions.

Here in NC, local leaders near the I-85 Yadkin River Project are not as optimistic as they were a few months ago. And NCDOT is already trying to come up with alternative funding plans based on how much if any grant dollars they receive.
Matt Salek saidā€¦
Colorado DOT submitted 7 projects totaling $463M. Here's a list: http://milepost61.wordpress.com/2009/08/20/cdot-pursuing-7-tiger-grants/
Arnold saidā€¦
I thought the exact same thing!

Here in Ann Arbor, we applied for $22 million for a Bridge that goes over a train track in conjunction with one that goes over a residential street.

I wrote the Tiger Grant people to inform them that the train is used twice a day - between 10pm and 6am, and that the residential road is typical to many in the city that never - ever have had any discussion about putting up a bridge to avoid a stoplight.

Instead of replacing the current bridges, I asked the Tiger Group to reject the application due to the waste. Ann Arbor could put in at grade roads at a cost less than $10 million. They just don't want to.

The interesting part in my discussions with the Tiger Group is there seems to be little puclic input. Nor does there appear to be much investigation into the need / honesty of the applications.

I hope they - The Tiger Grant people - can weed out the pork and give the money to the truly needy.

www.theannarborbridgetonowhere.com
Brian saidā€¦
@Arnold:

Unfortunately, there's just no decent way to possibly make Stadium and State at-grade without significantly encroaching upon adjacent property, as the city's letter points out. This is just one of those cases where the original bridges were built to address the traffic issues of that time, development was allowed in the adjacent areas, and thus no good way to just remove the overpasses. And as one of my friends points out, construction is well under way. I admire you for wanting to speak out, though.

Popular posts from this blog

Hawaii Route 8930

Hawaii Route 8930 is a 2.5-mile State Highway on the Island of O'hau.  Hawaii Route 8930 is aligned over Kualakai Parkway over the course of its entire alignment south from Interstate H-1 to Kapolei Parkway.  Hawaii Route 8930 is one of the newest Hawaii Routes only having been completed during 2010.   This page is part of the Gribblenation O'ahu Highways page.  All Gribblenation and Roadwaywiz media related to the highway system of O'ahu can be found at the link below: https://www.gribblenation.org/p/gribblenation-oahu-highways-page.html Part 1; the history of Hawaii Route 8930 The history of Hawaii Route 8930 is brief given it is a modern facility.  Hawaii Route 8930 and what was known as "North-South Road" were built to facilitate the developing areas of Kapolei on western O'ahu.  According to hawaiihighways.com the first stage of Hawaii Route 8930 was completed from Kapolei Parkway north to Farrington Highway as a four-lane highway during November...

Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road

Madera County Road 607 is an approximately seven-mile rural unsurfaced highway which spans from Road 600 near Raymond west to Road 29.   Road 607 west from Raymond Road Cemetery (established in 1905) is part of the Stockton-Los Angeles Road corridor surveyed in 1853. The corridor lies in the gap between Fresno Crossing at the Fresno River west to Newton's Crossing at the Chowchilla River. The Buchanan Copper Mine would be along what is now Road 607 in the namesake Buchanan Hollow during July 1863. The Buchanan Mine is thought to have once had a population of between 1,000-1,500 residents by the early 1870s. Copper prices would decline in the decade after the Civil War and much of the activity at Buchanan shifted towards cattle ranching. The last businesses in the community would shutter during World War II and it is now a true ghost town. Part 1; the history of Madera County Road 607 and the Stockton-Los Angeles Road What is now Road 607 was a component of the larger Sto...

Paper Highways; Interstate H-4 through downtown Honolulu

The Hawaiian Island of O'ahu is home to four Interstate Highways; H-1, H-2, H-3 and H-201.  Had history gone slightly differently during the 1960s a fifth Interstate corridor on O'ahu could have been constructed through downtown Honolulu and the neighborhood of Waikiki.  The proposed corridor of Interstate H-4 can be seen above as it was presented by the Hawaii Department of Transportation during October 1968 .   This page is part of the Gribblenation O'ahu Highways page.  All Gribblenation and Roadwaywiz media related to the highway system of O'ahu can be found at the link below: https://www.gribblenation.org/p/gribblenation-oahu-highways-page.html The history of proposed Interstate H-4 The corridor of Interstate H-4 was conceived as largely following what is now Hawaii Route 92 on Nimitz Highway and Ala Moana Boulevard.   Prior to the Statehood the first signed highways within Hawaii Territory came into existence during World War II.    Dur...