WASHINGTON—The U.S. Department of Transportation is accepting applications until April 29 for grants under the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery competitive grant program.
Fiscal Year 2016 marks the eighth round of TIGER grants, DOT said in a Feb. 23 news release. As in the past, the grants will fund capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and will be awarded competitively for projects that will have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or a region, the agency said.
Since 2009, TIGER has provided nearly $4.6 billion to 381 transportation projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, according to DOT. In FY 2016, $500 million in grant money is available, it said.
The 2016 program will focus on capital projects that generate that generate economic development and improve access to reliable, safe and affordable transportation, the agency said. The Consolidated Appropriations Act for 2016 does not provide dedicated funding for the planning, preparation or design of projects, but these activities may be funded as part of an overall project, it said.
DOT announced funding for the TIGER grants at about the same time it announced a $98.1 billion budget for FY 2017.
The 2017 DOT budget includes a “21st Century Regions” grant program to implement regional-scale transportation and land use strategies, the agency said.