TIGER Transit Funding for SEPA

In November, President Obama directed DOT to take common sense steps to expedite transportation projects by accelerating the process for review and approval and by leveraging private sector funding to promote growth and job creation. As part of that initiative, DOT accelerated the TIGER III application review process and has announced the awards before the end of 2011 – months ahead of the planned spring 2012 announcement. 


TIGER grants are awarded to transportation projects that have a significant national or regional impact. Projects are chosen for their ability to contribute to the long-term economic competitiveness of the nation, improve the condition of existing transportation facilities and systems, increase energy efficiency and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, improve the safety of U.S. transportation facilities and enhance the quality of living and working environments of communities through increased transportation choices and connections. The Department also gives priority to projects that are expected to create and preserve jobs quickly and stimulate increases in economic activity. 

Two grants were awarded to projects in the SEPA area:

Ten million to Philadelphia for:

This traffic signal prioritization project will upgrade more than 100 existing traffic controllers along three transit corridors (Castor/Oxford Avenues, Bustleton Avenue, and Woodland Avenue), covering approximately 15.72 miles in Philadelphia. The project will connect the controllers to the city’s existing traffic management system via fiber optic cable and link to transit vehicles serving these corridors, maximizing traffic flow and running speeds.  The project also includes upgrades to Americans with Disability Act (ADA) compliant ramps, installs traffic monitoring cameras and fiber-optic cable, replaces electro-mechanical traffic controllers, installs signal priority receivers and optical emitters, and installs pedestrian countdown signals at intersections along the corridors.

This project received $18.5 million:

This project will repair DelAir Bridge, linking the rail networks of Pennsylvania and New Jersey. This major connection will be repaired to accommodate the transport of industry-standard 286,000 lb. rail cars and enhance freight movement throughout the northeast region. This project is part of a larger effort to repair the rail network from the DelAir Bridge to the Port of Salem, including the ports of Paulsboro and Camden, which must be significantly upgraded to accommodate the anticipated increased demand in rail and port traffic.

A full list of projects nationwide is available at:  http://www.dot.gov/tiger/docs/FY2011_TIGER.pdf