The U.S. Department of Transportation (US DOT) announced the list of 41 recipients of nearly $500 million in discretionary grant funding for road, transit, maritime, and rail projects through the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) program.

“TIGER grants are targeted investments for our local communities that will increase safety, create jobs, and modernize our country’s infrastructure,” said Secretary Elaine L. Chao.

More than 64% of this round of TIGER funding was awarded to rural projects, a historic number that demonstrates this Administration’s commitment to supporting the country’s rural communities.

Tribal projects are receiving $39.18 million of this round of awards, the highest amount of funding since the first round of TIGER.

The primary selection criteria for TIGER awards include considerations for safety, state of good repair, economic competitiveness, quality of life, and environmental sustainability for each project. Secondary criteria include innovation and partnerships. The criteria used to select projects for these grants were similar to the Administration’s Infrastructure principles of supporting economic vitality and promoting innovation.

The fiscal year (FY) 2017 TIGER program gave special consideration to projects which emphasized improved access to reliable, safe, and affordable transportation for communities in rural areas, such as projects that improve infrastructure condition, address public health and safety, promote regional connectivity, or facilitate economic growth or competitiveness.

The projects supported by the TIGER discretionary grants, include:

• Summerhill Bus Rapid Transit Project, Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority, $12,629,760 – to implement an approximately 9.4-mile bus rapid transit route connecting the Summerhill neighborhood anchored by Georgia State University to MARTA's heavy rail system and the Atlanta Streetcar network.

• Chippewa Valley Regional Transit Transfer Center Revitalization Project, City of Eau Claire, Wis., $5,000,000 – to construct a transit transfer center in downtown Eau Claire and purchase four new buses to be used by the Eau Claire Transit system.

• Mid-Atlantic Multimodal Transportation Hub, Baltimore County, Maryland, $20,000,000 – to build state-of-the-art cargo-handling facilities at the Sparrows Point industrial facility in East Baltimore as part of a larger investment program to repurpose a former steel manufacturing site with marine service into a multimodal logistics hub.

• Carson City Gateway: South Carson Street Complete Streets, Carson City, Nevada, $7,570,202 – to construct an approximately 2.5-mile complete streets corridor, including a corridor-wide road diet, a roundabout, a multi-use path, dedicated bicycle facilities, pedestrian safety improvements, storm water infrastructure, and fiber-optic communications infrastructure to support intelligent transportation systems.

• Downtown Akron Promenade (Phase Two), City of Akron, Ohio, $8,000,743 – to design and reconstruct a portion of South Main Street to incorporate complete streets elements including roadway reconstruction with traffic calming and a road diet, streetscape improvements, upgraded traffic signals, bicycle and pedestrian facilities, bus shelter enhancements, lighting, wayfinding signage, and improved storm water management.

Since the TIGER grant program was first created, $5.6 billion has been awarded for capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure over nine rounds of competitive grants. Throughout the TIGER program, these grants have supported projects that have a significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area, or a region.