U.S. DOT Grant $10M for Duluth Intermodal Project

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) today announced a $10 million TIGER grant for the Duluth Intermodal project, one of 52 transportation projects in 37 states that will receive a total of approximately $474 million from DOT’s Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) 2013 discretionary grant program. Acting Maritime Administrator Paul “Chip” Jaenichen visited the Port of Duluth-Superior today to tour the project site and meet with local officials for the TIGER announcement.

“These TIGER projects are the best argument you can make for investment in our transportation infrastructure,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “Together, they answer President Obama’s call for a stronger transportation system for future generations by repairing existing roads and bridges, connecting people to new jobs and opportunities, and contributing to our nation’s economic growth.”

The TIGER funds will be used to rehabilitate, rebuild and expand a 28-acre general cargo dock at the Port of Duluth-Superior, connecting water, road, and rail infrastructure to increase freight capacity and efficiency. The Duluth Intermodal project will improve freight mobility by refurbishing a dock that is not structurally sound in order to support heavy cargo moved through the Great Lakes. The funding provided today demonstrates the Obama Administration’s commitment to increasing and improving the movement of freight, reducing costs, and increasing economic competitiveness in the Great Lakes region.

“This federal investment in local infrastructure is a win-win for the port and the entire Great Lakes region," said Acting Administrator Jaenichen. “By improving and, more importantly, increasing freight flows and intermodal reliability in the region, this project will produce value for generations, connecting this region, its industry, and its people to new jobs and opportunities as we continue the economic revitalization that keeps the U.S. competitive in world markets.”

The highly competitive TIGER program offers one of the only federal funding possibilities for large, multi-modal projects that often are not suitable for other federal funding sources. These federal funds leverage money from private sector partners, states, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations and transit agencies. The 2013 TIGER round alone supports $1.8 billion in overall project investments.

TIGER has enjoyed overwhelming demand since its creation, a trend continued by TIGER 2013. Applications for this most recent round of grants totaled more than $9 billion, far exceeding the $474 million set aside for the program. In all, the Department received 585 applications from all 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Guam.

The projects funded through this round of TIGER illustrate the President’s goals of creating “Ladders of Opportunity” that connect people to jobs, repairing and replacing aging infrastructure with a “Fix it First” approach and contributing to America’s economic growth. This award will be used to build out a fully functional intermodal facility that will provide regional industry greater import and export capacity, expanding their access to more markets.

On March 26, 2013, the President signed the FY 2013 Appropriations Act, which after sequestration provided approximately $474 million for Department of Transportation national infrastructure investments. Like the first four rounds, TIGER 2013 grants are for capital investments in infrastructure and are awarded on a competitive basis based on the published selection criteria. This is the fifth round of TIGER funding.

Under all five rounds combined, the TIGER program has provided more than $3.6 billion to 270 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico. Demand for the program outweighed available funds, and during all five rounds, the Department of Transportation received more than 5,200 applications requesting more than $114.2 billion for transportation projects across the country.

dot.gov/tiger