Filing Date:

TIFIA includes a rolling application process; contact the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Build America Bureau for additional information.

Eligibility:

State and local governments, transit agencies, special authorities, special districts and private entities.

Description:

The TIFIA Program provides federal credit assistance to eligible surface transportation projects, including the construction of transit, intercity bus and intercity passenger rail facilities, as well as transit-oriented development. The program is designed to fill market gaps and leverage substantial private co-investment by providing projects with supplemental, subordinate investment.

The TIFIA credit program provides three types of financial assistance:

  • Secured loans are direct federal loans to project sponsors offering flexible repayment terms and providing combined construction and permanent financing of capital costs.
  • Loan guarantees provide full-faith-and-credit guarantees by the federal government and guarantee a borrower’s repayments to a non-federal lender.
  • Lines of credit are contingent sources of funding in the form of federal loans that may be drawn upon to supplement project revenues, if needed, during the first 10 years of project operations.

TIFIA credit assistance may cover up to 33% of reasonably anticipated eligible project costs, unless the sponsor can provide a compelling justification for up to 49% coverage.

For example, Denver Union Station underwent an extensive expansion and renovation project that included the creation of an intermodal transit district around the historic station that encompasses transit-oriented development. Completed in 2014, the station is a regional multimodal hub served by commuter rail, intercity passenger rail, light rail, bus rapid transit and other related transportation services. The $518.6 million project promotes livability and provides environmental, social and economic benefits to the Denver region.

The project was in part financed with a $145.6 million TIFIA loan secured by liens on pledged revenues that include tax increment revenues, a levy on property tax revenues and lodger’s tax revenue. For more information on TIFIA-financed projects, visit the FHWA’s TIFIA website.

Financing:

To receive TIFIA assistance, a project must have anticipated costs meeting the thresholds noted below:

  • $10 million for transit-oriented development, local and rural projects; and
  • $50 million for all other eligible surface transportation projects.

Specified project types have a lower cost threshold under TIFIA:

  • Rural infrastructure project (a surface transportation project located outside an urbanized area with a population of more than 150,000): $10 million (but not exceeding $100 million).
  • Transit-oriented development project (such as infrastructure to promote biking and walking around a transit station; construction, renovation and improvement of intercity bus and rail stations; and renovation and improvement of historic transportation facilities): $10 million.
  • Local infrastructure project (such as infrastructure to promote biking and walking around a transit station): $10 million. The applicant must be a local government, public authority, or instrumentality of local government; the project must be located on a facility owned by a local government; or it must be determine that a local government is substantially involved in the development of the project.

Multiple related TIFIA-eligible projects may be grouped in order to meet one of these cost thresholds as long as the projects’ credit assistance is secured by a common pledge.

TIFIA assistance must be repaid through dedicated revenue sources that secure project obligations, such as tolls, other user fees, or payments received under a public-private partnership agreement. Repayment of a TIFIA loan must begin by five years after the substantial completion of the project, and the loan must be fully repaid within 35 years after the project’s substantial completion or by the end of the useful life of the asset being financed, if that life is less than 35 years.

Funding:

$275 million (FY 2016)
$275 million (FY 2017)
$285 million (FY 2018)
$300 million (FY 2019)
$300 billion (FY 2020)

Additional Information: