
Today, the Department of Transportation announced the awarding of $1.5 billion in Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants. The money went to more than 50 projects in states ranging from Maine to Hawaii to South Carolina. So which states walked away with the biggest piece of pie? Here’s a rundown.
BIG WINNERS
CALIFORNIA: All in, the state will get$130 million, spread out between four projects. San Francisco’s Doyle Drive replacement gets the biggest chunk, or $46 million, while the Colton Crossing of the Alameda Corridor East (which will “eliminate the mainline at-grade rail crossing of the Union Pacific Railroad and the BNSF Railway at Colton in San Bernardino County”) will receive $33.8 million. The California Green Trade Corridor/MarineHighway Project will get $30 million, and is described as follows:
The project is a collaborative effort of three regional ports in California to develop and use a marine highway system as an alternative to existing truck and rail infrastructure. The Port of Oakland along with the inland Ports of Stockton and West Sacramento have formed a partnership to provide freight service via barge, primarily for consumer goods moving by ocean vessel and agricultural products grown in Central California.
And finally, San Diego will get $20 million for the Otay Mesa Port-of-Entry I-805/SR-905 Interchange.
TENNESSEE AND ALABAMA: The two states come out on top, receiving a whopping $105 million for the Crescent Corridor Intermodal Freight Rail Project, which will cost a total of $224 million. Here’s a description:
The Crescent Corridor is a major intermodal freight program centered on the continued development of Norfolk Southern’s rail intermodal route from the Gulf Coast to the Mid-Atlantic. The TIGER grant supports construction of two new intermodal facilities in Memphis, TN and Birmingham, AL -both critical components of the full corridor plan. Construction of these new facilities includes pad and support tracks, trailer and container parking areas, lead tracks, and related ancillary buildings and features.
ILLINOIS: Next on the list is Chicago’s CREATE Program Projects, which walked away with $100 million, which will put a substantial dent in funding the $162 million project. So what is CREATE?
[It's] a package of 78 projects that address freight rail congestion in the Chicago area–a nationally significant freight bottleneck adversely affecting the delivery of goods throughout the country. The program is the product of extensive outreach and planning among federal, state, local and private stakeholders. TIGER funds will be used to complete the highest priority projects in the CREATE Program. These include installing new traffic control systems; constructing a new rail bridge; and making other significant improvements to signals, switches, roadways, sidewalks, and other components.
Then there’s the $22 million going to Normal, IL for a Multimodal Transportation Center connecting the town’s aviation, rail, bus, auto, and pedestrian facilities. Finally, the state’s SouthwesternRegional Intermodal Freight Transportation Hub will get $6 million.
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