Federal Transit Grants: K Street Loses, Maryland Wins

The U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced today the recipients of Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grants. The DC area received just under $59 million in funding for Priority Bus Transit in the National Capital Region, to be distributed among the District, Maryland and Virginia. The estimated total project cost is $83 million for the proposed priority bus transit project. A DOT press release indicated the agency had received 1,400 applications from across the country, requesting funding for almost $60 billion worth of projects – 40 times the amount available through the program. According to the DOT, the DC area project will provide more efficient bus service along 13 transit corridors.

The big loser for the District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is the K Street Redesign. DDOT Spokesperson, John Lisle confirmed for DCMud, "it does not appear any funding was awarded for the K Street Transitway." In September, DDOT officials told DCMud that the proposed K St Redesign will cost $139 million, which the agency hoped to cover entirely with TIGER funds. The District had gone as far as designing options and, just this January, selected a winning design. The redesign was a "sub-package" of the proposed priority bus corridors and was excluded from the approved grant. Lisle did not seem too discouraged saying he expects "there will be other opportunities to apply for federal funding for those projects, which we will pursue."


Though the funds will be distributed among the three entities in the National Capital Region, it would initially appear that Virginia will gain the lion's share with Maryland trailing in second place. A large portion of Maryland's funds will go to the Takoma/Langley Transit center, which will be built at the intersection of University Boulevard and New Hampshire Avenue just on the border of Maryland's Montgomery and Prince George's Counties. According to the DOT, the new center will provide "more efficient and timely access to economically distressed populations." According to Lisle, some priority bus corridors in the District will receive funding from the regional grant. Lisle added that the funding DC received is a "sizable piece of the pie, considering how many requests were made across the country."

DC also applied for TIGER grants that would fund metro improvements and bike sharing programs. Neither request received funding.

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