Surface Transportation Discretionary Grants for Capital Investment

The purposes of the Recovery Act include, among other things: (i) to preserve and create jobs and promote economic recovery and (ii) to invest in transportation infrastructure that will provide long-term economic benefits. The Act requires that grants be provided for surface transportation projects that will have a significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area, or a region.

The Federal share of the costs for which an expenditure is made under this program may have been up to 100 percent, however, the Department gave priority to projects that required a contribution of Federal funds in order to complete an overall financing package, and to projects that are expected to be completed by February 17, 2012.

The ultimate benefits of this program may have been received by, among others, State or local governments, transit agencies, builders/contractors/developers, major metropolises, and other urban, suburban, or rural areas.

Recipients and their first-tier sub-awardees were required to have a DUNS number (www.dnb.com) and a current registration in the Central Contractor Registration (www.ccr.gov). Recipients of Recovery Act funds had to have systems and internal controls that allow them to separately track and report Recovery Act funds even if the funds are being used to fund an existing project/activity.

Under this program, $1,500,000,000 was available through September 30, 2011, for the Department to make grants on a competitive basis for projects that would have a significant impact on the Nation, a metropolitan area, or a region. Projects eligible for funding provided under this program included, but were not limited to, highway or bridge projects eligible under title 23, United States Code, including interstate rehabilitation, improvements to the rural collector road system, the reconstruction of overpasses and interchanges, bridge replacements, seismic retrofit projects for bridges, and road realignments; public transportation projects eligible under chapter 53 of title 49, United States Code, included investments in projects participating in the New Starts or Small Starts programs that would expedite the completion of those projects and their entry into revenue service; passenger and freight rail transportation projects; and port infrastructure investments, including projects that connect ports to other modes of transportation and improve the efficiency of freight movement. The Department also used an amount not to exceed $200,000,000 for the purpose of paying the subsidy and administrative costs of projects eligible for federal credit assistance under chapter 6 of title 23, United States Code, if the Department finds that such use of the funds would advance the purposes of this program. In distributing funds available under this program, the Department must take measures to ensure an equitable geographic distribution of funds and an appropriate balance in addressing the needs of urban and rural communities. Grants provided under this program generally were not less than $20,000,000 and not greater than $300,000,000, however, the Department waived the $20,000,000 minimum grant size for the purpose of funding significant projects in smaller cities, regions, or States. Not more than 20 percent of the funds made available under this program would be awarded to projects in a single State. The Federal share of the costs for which an expenditure was made under this program may have been up to 100 percent, however, the Department gave priority to projects that required a contribution of Federal funds in order to complete an overall financing package, and to projects that were expected to be completed by February 17, 2012.

Funds available under this program were available through September 30, 2011. The Department gave priority to projects that are expected to be completed by February 17, 2012.

Complete applications for TIGER Discretionary Grants were submitted by September 15, 2009 (the ''Application Deadline''). While applicants were encouraged to submit applications in advance of the Application Deadline, applications would not be evaluated, and awards would not be made, until after the Application Deadline. Due to the need to expedite the grant award process to meet the requirements and purposes of the Recovery Act (as defined below), the Department evaluated all applications and announced the projects that had been selected to receive Grant Funds (as defined below) as soon as possible after the Application Deadline, but no later than February 17, 2010. In addition, in the event this solicitation did not result in the award and obligation of all available funds, the Department decided to publish an additional solicitation.

TIGER Discretionary Grants were awarded based on the selection criteria as outlined below. There were two categories of selection criteria, ''Primary Selection Criteria'' and ''Secondary election Criteria.'' The Primary Selection Criteria include (1) Long-Term Outcomes and (2) Jobs Creation & Economic Stimulus. The Secondary Selection Criteria include (1) Innovation and (2) Partnership. The Primary selection Criteria were intended to capture the primary objectives of the TIGER Discretionary Grants provision of the Recovery Act, which include near-term economic recovery and job creation, maximization of long-term economic benefits and impacts on the Nation, a region, or a metropolitan area, and assistance for those most affected by the current economic downturn. The Secondary Selection Criteria were intended to capture the benefits of new and/or innovative approaches to achieving programmatic objectives.

TIGER Discretionary Grants were awarded to projects with a demonstrated or ability to: ''(i) Deliver programmatic results; (ii) achieve economic stimulus by optimizing economic activity and the number of jobs created or saved in relation to the Federal dollars obligated; (iii) achieve long-term public benefits by, for example, investing in technological advances in science and health to increase economic efficiency and improve quality of life; investing in transportation, environmental protection, and other infrastructure that provided long-term economic benefits; fostering energy independence; or improving educational quality; and (iv) satisfy the Recovery Act's transparency and accountability objectives.''