Filing Date:

Varies—contact your local U.S. DOT official to learn more.

Eligibility:

State, tribal and local governments, transit agencies, port authorities, Metropolitan Planning Organizations and other political subdivisions of state or local governments.

Description:

In 2018, the BUILD Transportation Discretionary Grants program replaced the Transportation Investments Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) Discretionary Grants program. BUILD, like TIGER, is focused on surface transportation infrastructure investments that make a positive impact throughout the country.

Funds may be requested for capital projects that include, but are not limited to: passenger and freight rail transportation projects; public transportation projects; intermodal projects; highway, bridge, or other road projects; and port infrastructure investments.

To address rural transportation infrastructure needs, the U.S. DOT intends to award a greater share of BUILD Transportation Discretionary Grants funding to projects located in rural areas. Up to $15 million may be awarded as grants for the planning, preparation or design of eligible projects.

For example, the city of Niagara Falls, N.Y., received $16.5 million in Tiger II Discretionary Grants to complete the third and final phase of its international railway station. This phase relocated Amtrak’s passenger terminal from a site outside the city center to a downtown location. The passenger rail terminal accommodates multimodal operations (bus/taxi/park and ride, etc.). The project also improved freight and passenger rail efficiency by eliminating conflict points and addressing passenger safety concerns such as speeding border crossings into Canada.

Financing:

Individual awards can be $5 million-$25 million. As usual, the federal share is up to 80 percent of project costs with a 20 percent local match. At least $450 million will be allocated for projects in rural areas, where 100 percent of project costs are eligible for funding and project awards can be as low as $1 million. No one state can receive more than $150 million of program funds. The FY 2018 BUILD Transportation Discretionary Grants funds are available for obligation through September 30, 2020.

Funding:

$500 million (TIGER FY 2012)
$474 million (TIGER FY 2013)
$600 million (TIGER FY 2014)
$500 million (TIGER FY 2015)
$500 million (TIGER FY 2016)
$500 million (TIGER FY 2017)
$1.5 billion (BUILD FY 2018)
$900 million (BUILD FY 2019)

Additional Information:

U.S. Department of Transportation – BUILD Discretionary Grants