Interactive TIGER map demonstrates the value of DOT grant program

Last week, the Department of Transportation awarded nearly $600 million in TIGER II discretionary grants. The 75 projects we're supporting with these awards are innovative proposals that take on economic, environmental, safety and mobility challenges at the same time.

Whether it's widening a road for trucks and cars in Logan, West Virginia, building a deep-water marine highway port in Dyersburg, Tennessee, or relieving a critical freight rail bottleneck in Fort Worth, Texas, these projects will put Americans to work today laying the foundation for the 21st century economy we need to better position our nation for sustained prosperity.

And when you see a map of the United States that shows how we've blanketed the country with these good projects, you can't help but get excited about the variety of ideas and breadth of distribution our TIGER II grants demonstrate.

So today I want to thank Transportation For America, a non-profit organization that has created precisely such a map and posted it on their website.

T4America's interactive map of USDOT TIGER grants shows projects from Maine to Hawaii

There, you can see a pin representing each of our TIGER (red)and TIGER II (blue) projects. Highlighting a pin will display the project name. But clicking on a pin will pop up the location, the dollar amount of the award, and a full description.

Obviously, this is a terrific service for those interested in how their Federal dollars are being spent.

But, for those who are interested in transportation it's even better, though I want to warn you that it may be difficult to tear yourself away. Each of these projects is fascinating, and after reading about one, you might just want to click on another and another.

For example, I was reading about the grade separation overpass on 55th Street in Minot, ND, where 43 trains a day stop traffic for a daily total of 3.5 hours. And--look!--right nearby in Staples, MN, there's another rail crossing--where residents sit in traffic when 52 trains a day pass through--being upgraded to allow for road traffic to flow uninterrupted.

Just over to the left, there's a road safety project on US 18 in Oglala and Pine Ridge, SD, where the accident rate is currently 2.5 times higher than the South Dakota average. Further over, there's a complete streets initiative on Woodside Boulevard, a collector street that lacks good sidewalks, traffic signals, and bus pull-outs in Hailey, ID.

Well, it's pretty obvious where I stand: TIGER II awarded money to needed projects that solve pressing problems. And the interactive map Transportation For America has provided does a terrific job of putting our TIGER and TIGER II awards on a single screen for everyone to see.

Comments

[Josh]

Oh and a unnecessary streetcar system in atlanta is a good use of money. Sure....

Such a waste.

[Gerald H Barsness]

RE: Calif Hwy 58 & I-40 in California 10-29-2010

When are the Federal DOT and California going to get together and complete Interstate-40 from Barstow, CA to Calif Hwy 101? (At least to I-5 South of Lost Hill, CA) To me there is no excuse that Calif Hwy 58 shouldn’t become I-40 as it is one of the heaviest truck routes in the country. We are talking about from West of Barstow, through Bakersfield, etc.,
It is not only a good project to help the transportation system in the US but in the long run it would also solve a safety issue for the thousands of OTR trucks that use this route every day - year around.

[Faith Cole]

This is a great idea - let's map all of our discretionary grants via GIS. We could add layers for different years / modes and communities would have an easier time identifying public dollars at work in and around their communities. Let's also make sure it's compatible with map layers at HUD and EPA.