On April 15, 2011, President Obama signed the Full-Year Continuing Appropriations Act which provided $526.9 million for National Infrastructure Investments. Funding will be awarded on a competitive basis for projects that have a significant impact on the nation, a metro area or a region.
The TIGER III program is very similar to the TIGER II program from 2010, with a number of minor changes:
• No funding is specifically set aside for the planning, preparation or design of capital projects; however, these activities are eligible for funding as part of an overall construction project.
• An organization can be the lead applicant on no more than three applications.
Washington State Department of Transportation applied for grants to build the Montlake Triangle Project, which is a portion of the SR 520 Bridge Replacement program ($43 million); the Interstate 5 – Joint Base Lewis-McChord Area Congestion Management Project: SR 510 to SR 512 ($34 million); and the MV Hyak Hybrid Propulsion System ($12.5 million). The U.S. Department of Transportation reviewed and scored each application through a competitive process.
Tiger III Grant Submittals
Montlake Triangle Project
WSDOT is seeking $15 million toward the Montlake Triangle Project. Located in Seattle, the Montlake Triangle is a key multimodal transit and pedestrian hub that connects a number of regional destinations for employment, education, medical care, athletics and surrounding communities.
If funded, the TIGER grant will create construction jobs while ensuring crucial infrastructure investments are completed in a region that is expected to grow by 40 to 45 percent by 2040, according to regional planning. With a new light rail station opening in 2016, thousands of passengers will surge in waves during the peak travel hours. The project provides new, safe grade-separated crossings that
reduce conflict points and improve connectivity and accessibility while enhancing the area as a livable destination.
• State of Good Repair: Aligns with longstanding regional transportation improvement plans and future light rail service. Ensures that the area’s transportation infrastructure can continue to meet increasing demand.
• Economic Competitiveness: Improves transit connections for pedestrians and bicyclists to reach key job centers throughout the region reliably.
• Livability: Provides a more accessible, welcoming and livable space through creative urban design features including landscaping, lighting, signage, views, and pathways.
• Sustainability: Encourages increased transit, bicycle and pedestrian use by improving facilities and connections for these users, leading to environmental benefits.
• Safety: Constructs two grade-separated crossings over major roadways to reduce conflict points, while implementing signage and prioritizing accessibility for all people.
• Job Creation and Economic Activity: Generates 424 direct, indirect and induced jobs over the next two years and an additional 26 jobs over its 30-year life-cycle.
• Innovation: Solves complex engineering and design challenges for unique structures and features in a busy, physically constrained area.
• Partnership: Incorporates strong and collaborative input from a variety of local, regional and state jurisdictions, transit and transportation agencies and educational institutions, reflecting broad consensus and support for the project.
Benefit Cost Analysis Supporting Documents (1mb pdf)
Letters of support for the project (876k pdf)
Wage rate certification letter (193k pdf)
TIGER III Grant Application for Montlake Triangle Project (614k pdf)
M.V. Hyak Hybrid Ferry Propulsion Project
WSDOT’s Ferries Division, Washington State Ferries, is requesting $10 million in TIGER III grant funds to convert the propulsion system of a ferry vessel – Motor Vessel (MV) Hyak – from an antiquated system that emits large volumes of pollutants and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, to a modern, hybrid propulsion system which will reduce fuel consumption and pollution, while reducing operating costs and oil dependence. Over the Hyak’s remaining service life, this project will cut 44,933 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, and save over 4.5 million gallons of diesel fuel. Annually, that is 2,365 metric tons of CO2 savings, and 234,677 gallons of diesel.
The Hyak’s new hybrid propulsion system technology will achieve these environmental impacts in three ways:
• Variable-speed generators – the generators powering the Hyak’s current, outdated propulsion system run at a constant rate of 900rpm, and produce a fixed amount of power. This is like keeping a car engine running at full speed while waiting at a stop light. It wastes fuel, emits GHGs, and fills the Puget Sound Region and its port areas with diesel pollution. The hybrid Hyak will use variable-speed generators, capable of supplying power when needed, or slowing down when demand is low.
• Power management, and auto-start/auto-shutdown technology – This innovation resembles the technology used in “smart grid” systems, where a computer senses load, and responds with the appropriate amount of power. This will enable effective use of variable-speed generators, and save substantial amounts of fuel.
• Batteries as backup power – When a small number of the Hyak’s diesel generators are running and more power is needed, the bank of batteries can provide additional power, eliminating the need to switch on additional generators. Similarly, at times when many generators are running, but not all the power is being used, the batteries will store this additional power, rather than letting it go to waste.
This project’s long-term benefits outweigh its total costs by a sizable margin, making it a sound public investment. The estimated benefits at a conservative 7 percent discount rate are $18.8 million over the course of the Hyak’s useful life, compared to $12 million in total costs. At a 3 percent discount rate, the project yields $26.2 million in benefits, compared to $12.7 million in costs.
These benefit estimates are derived primarily from direct, easy-to-verify improvements in engine performance leading to improved fuel efficiency and emissions cuts. This project lends itself to solid, output-based evaluation of tangible results, rather than relying on assumptions about user behavior, or indirect means to measure GHG reductions.
In addition to its long-term benefits, this project will have a solid, near-term impact in terms of job creation. Retrofitting the Hyak will create 158.32 job-years of work in the course of implementation. This includes 37.02 years of skilled shipyard labor, 15 percent of which will directly support maritime industry apprentice programs.
WSF is currently among the region’s biggest emitters of GHGs and diesel pollution. In 2009 WSF released an estimated 174,000 metric tons of CO2 equivalent, accounting for 63 percent of the State fleet’s total emissions and 16% of total emissions by State agencies. WSDOT recognizes that this is not sustainable, and is working aggressively to reduce fuel consumption and pollution. However, at a time of state budget cuts and limited funding opportunities, federal support is critical to sustaining these efforts. This TIGER III grant will enable WSDOT, local partners, and the USDOT to work together using innovative technology to reduce GHG emissions, oil dependence, and the threats to human health created by particulate diesel emissions.
M.V. Hyak Project Letters (2.6Mb pdf)
M.V. Hyak Project Wage Rate (190k pdf)
M.V. Hyak Hybrid Grant Application 10-28-11 (2Mb pdf)
I-5 Joint Base Lewis-McChord Area Congestion Management Project
WSDOT is requesting $27.2 million toward implementing solutions that relieve severe congestion on this key 15.5- mile corridor along I-5 in the southern Puget Sound of Washington state. If funded, the TIGER Grant will have a major economic impact by saving: $138.8 million in vehicle operating costs; $232.8 million in travel time reliability, and $95 million in freight shipping operational costs. In addition, time saved by reducing congestion will increase productivity and add over 2,300 new jobs to the region.
This corridor is a critical economic lifeline for freight movement along the entire West Coast corridor of I-5, and directly serves ports throughout the south Puget Sound. The corridor also serves as a key commuter route in the south Sound, linking two of the state’s fastest growing counties (Thurston and Pierce) and providing access to several large regional employment centers.
Another major entity in this corridor is Joint Base Lewis-McChord, one of the largest military bases on the west coast, as well as the third largest employer in the state. JBLM’s key geographic location provides rapid access to Puget Sound deepwater ports and multiple nearby airfields, allowing rapid deployment of troops.
This project innovatively adds capacity without expanding the I-5 footprint by:
• Deploying the innovative traffic management strategy of hard shoulder running supported by Active Traffic Management
• Installing operational enhancements identified in WSDOT’s Intelligent Transportation System master plan, including ramp metering, congestion monitoring and expanding traveler information along I-5 and into the base
• Adding HOV/express bypass lanes at 12 ramp meters
• Rebuilding key connections within JBLM to improve the distribution of traffic
• Improving military gate access points and signals at local intersections with military gates
• State of good repair: Maximizes existing corridor capacity by deploying ITS and peak hour traffic management strategies; and by extending the life of the existing facility. It addresses a specific traffic issue that occurs during peak hour travel when heavy traffic exits the freeway to JBLM during the morning commute, and enters the freeway during the evening commute.
• Economic competitiveness: The project contributes to long-term economic success of the Pacific Northwest and the West Coast by improving the efficiency of the corridor. This project will reduce costs for all users of the corridor, including freight movement.
• Livability: Provides improvements in traffic flow, resulting in savings in both travel time and vehicle hours traveled. The project improves access to jobs and amenities by reducing average travel time in during peak hours.
• Sustainability: Improve energy efficiency by reducing commute time so that the interstate can operate closer to design speeds, a savings estimated to be $6.8 million over the project’s 20-year life.
• Safety: ITS applications within the project area will improve the safety of traffic in and around the corridor. The installation of ramp meters will improve the merging of traffic and will delay traffic flow breakdown. Studies show crash rate reductions of 24 to 50 percent when ramp metering is implemented.
• Innovation: Uses cutting edge, low cost technology to address chronic congestion and extend the life of this critical corridor. This project will be among the first in Washington to combine Active Traffic Management Strategies hard shoulder running with variable lane controls.
• Partnership: A long-standing partnership exists among the jurisdictions and stakeholders in this corridor. Most recently, this partnership received national recognition from the American Association of State Highway and Transportation Officials.
Benefit Cost Analysis Supporting Documents (118kb pdf)
Letters of support for the project (3mb pdf)
Wage rate certification letter (193kb pdf)
JBLM TIGER III Grant Application (1mb pdf)