U.S. DOT
Streetsblog Basics
U.S. DOT Unveils Full List of TIGER II Winners
The complete list of TIGER II grants has been released by U.S. DOT today, after members of Congress revealed many winners last week. In keeping with the department's livability goals, the list is filled with transit projects (especially streetcar lines), efforts to bolster the country's non-trucking freight network, and fix-it-first projects aimed at deteriorating roads and bridges.
October 20, 2010
TIGER II Funds Sheridan Replacement Study, Fordham Redesign
The TIGER II leaks keep coming. Here in New York, Congressman José Serrano just announced two winners of the much-sought-after federal funds (hat tip to the Tri-State Transportation Campaign on the news). $1.5 million will fund a planning study of the Sheridan Expressway area, which could provide a big boost for efforts to replace that little-used highway with housing, jobs, and parks. Another $10 million will go toward the redesign of Fordham Plaza, one of the most important spaces for transit and pedestrians in the city.
October 15, 2010
TIGER II Leaks Begin: New Haven’s Highway-to-Boulevard Project a Winner
We reported earlier today that Ray LaHood is keeping mum about the TIGER II grant winners until the middle of next week, but the info is beginning to drip -- and it's members of Congress doing the leaking.
October 15, 2010
Five Reasons Reformers Are Rallying Behind Obama’s Transpo Push
When President Obama announced his push for a long-term transportation bill on Monday, he introduced a report by his Council of Economic Advisors and the Treasury Department analyzing the economic impact of infrastructure investment [PDF]. At face value, the numbers in the president's plan might not look so impressive. It calls for rebuilding 150,000 miles of roads, laying and maintaining 4,000 miles of railways, and the restoration of 150 miles of airport runways.
October 13, 2010
Chris Christie Expected to Kill ARC Transit Tunnel
The largest federal transit investment in American history is on its deathbed, reports Andrea Bernstein at Transportation Nation. Three sources have told Bernstein that New Jersey Governor Chris Christie is ready to pull the plug on the plan to double rail capacity under the Hudson River this week, though Christie denies his mind is made up.
October 5, 2010
FTA: Transit Maintenance — Not Just Expansion — Will Grow Ridership
Aging infrastructure across the country has become an enormous safety risk. It’s also becoming an economic hazard.
October 4, 2010
Obama Admin Will Make Its Transportation Push… During the Next Congress
President Obama is “going to throw his support behind a six-year reauthorization of the transportation program” in Congress. That was the word today from Roy Kienitz, who represented the Transportation Department today as he testified before the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee.
September 28, 2010
Applications for TIGER II Funding Overwhelm What U.S. DOT Can Dish Out
For every dollar awarded from the U.S. DOT's TIGER II grant program, there are more than $30 that applicants are asking for but won’t be getting.
September 27, 2010
The Financial Foolishness of Christie’s ARC Gambit
Two weekends ago, construction on New Jersey's most important transit project was called to a temporary stop by Governor Chris Christie. He declared a thirty-day review period for the ARC tunnel project, which would build a new rail tunnel below the Hudson and double commuter rail capacity from New Jersey. Many worry the review is just a prelude to axing the $8.7 billion project altogether and using the money saved to patch up New Jersey's Transportation Trust Fund for a couple of years.
September 23, 2010
Will the Next Merit-Based Transpo Program Rock Harder Than TIGER?
Experts are still trying to make sense of President Obama's $50 billion plan for infrastructure spending, announced on Labor Day and later characterized as an upfront investment on a larger, multi-year transportation bill. More than a hundred people gathered at the Brookings Institution last Thursday looking to learn more about where the administration and Congress might go from here.
September 20, 2010