Applications to the U.S. Department of Transportation (U.S. DOT) for its sixth round of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants totaled $9.5 billion, 15 times the $600 million set aside for the program, demonstrating the continued need for transportation investment nationwide.

Altogether, the U.S. DOT received 797 eligible applications, compared to 585 in 2013, from 49 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

The announcement comes weeks after Secretary Anthony Foxx unveiled the GROW AMERICA Act, a four-year surface transportation reauthorization bill that would create millions of jobs and lay the groundwork for long-term economic competitiveness.

The proposed GROW AMERICA Act authorizes $5 billion over four years for much-needed additional TIGER funding to help meet the overwhelming demand for significant infrastructure investments around the country and provide the certainty that states and local governments need to properly plan for investment.

The TIGER program, which began as a part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, offers federal funding possibilities for large, game-changing multi-modal projects. The federal funds leverage money from private sector partners, state, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations and transit agencies. The $474 million awarded under TIGER 2013 supported $1.8 billion in overall project investments.

Congress provided the most recent funding as part of the bipartisan Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2014, signed by President Obama in January.