DOT Awards $511 Million for Transportation Projects

The Department of Transportation is awarding $511 million to fund 46 transportation projects in 33 states and Puerto Rico, Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said.

The funding will come from DOT’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery, or TIGER grants program, and will be used for “critical, job-creating infrastructure projects,” including road and bridge improvements, transit upgrades, freight, port and rail expansions, as well as for new options for bicyclists and pedestrians, DOT officials said.

DOT received 848 project applications from all 50 states, Puerto Rico and Washington, DC, requesting a total of $14.3 billion, far exceeding the $511 million made available for grants under the third round of the TIGER program.

“The overwhelming demand for these grants clearly shows that communities across the country can’t afford to wait any longer for Congress to put Americans to work building the transportation projects that are critical to our economic future,” LaHood said in a statement.