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 AUSTIN, TEXAS — The Texas Department of Transportation (TxDOT) submitted four applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation, requesting more than $93.8 million in federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) discretionary grant money to advance rail and highway projects across the state.

Included in the application package is a $53 million request for a TIGER Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) loan payment grant that will be used to subsidize an existing TIFIA loan application for the second phase of the North Tarrant Express project in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex.

Applications were selected based on the TIGER program criteria and how well they would compete nationally for a limited amount of funding, said Phil Wilson, TxDOT executive director."The agency is committed to providing a safe and efficient multi-modal transportation system--one with a sophisticated rail component designed to improve mobility, reduce congestion and drive economic development across the state," Wilson added.

TxDOT is also requesting grant money for three rail projects--$9.6 million to rehab the South Orient Railroad line from Sulphur Junction to Fort Stockton, $10 million to build additional track and make other rail improvements at the Port of Corpus Christi, and $21.3 million for the multi-state Sunbelt Rail Rehabilitation project to upgrade the Dallas, Garland and Northeastern Railroad, Kiamichi Railroad and Texas Northeastern Railroad lines in Texas, Oklahoma and Arkansas. The department is a co-applicant with Arkansas and Oklahoma on the Sunbelt Rail Rehabilitation project.

In all, $527 million in TIGER funding is available nationally through the 2011 Appropriations Act to fund innovative projects that meet federal criteria—those that have the potential to create jobs, promote economic development, foster transportation partnerships and are considered to be competitive, sustainable or safety related.

Projects eligible for TIGER grants include capital investments in highway or bridge, public transportation, passenger and freight rail and port infrastructure investments, especially those that connect ports to other modes of transportation and improve the efficiency of freight movement.

Go to www.txdot.gov/business/rail/tiger3.htm for more information on TxDOT’s TIGER grant applications and selected projects.