The Washington State Department of Transportation submitted applications for three high priority projects in King County, Vancouver, and Spokane to compete for the $1.5 billion available in TIGER Discretionary Grants, part of the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA).

The $787 billion Recovery Act Congress passed in February included $1.5 billion for Surface Transportation Discretionary Grants, called TIGER grants. TIGER stands for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery.

The U.S. Department of Transportation will review and score each application through a competitive process. U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood is expected to select projects in January. States are eligible to receive up to a maximum of $300 million in TIGER grants.

WSDOT applied for grants to build portions of the SR 520 Bridge Replacement program ($300 million), the Columbia River Crossing ($147 million), and the North Spokane Corridor ($35 million). Each of the projects proposed to receive funding will improve mobility in major freight corridors, complement current state highway investment, and provide jobs in communities experiencing significant business closures and unemployment.

We targeted mega-projects that clearly need federal assistance to enable the projects to be built. Our applications meet the TIGER grant criteria and also invest in construction-ready projects that are part of some of our most important corridor improvement programs.

View Gov. Gregoire's endorsement letter (pdf 237kb)

TIGER Grant Submittal - Corridor Improvement Programs

SR 520 Corridor - $300 million

The SR 520 Medina to SR 202: Eastside Transit and HOV Project (aka the Eastside Project) will build an HOV lane between Lake Washington and SR 202 in Redmond. With the $300 million requested in this grant application, the project will be ready to advance to the procurement phase.

The $300 million SR520 floating bridge replacement and HOV program projects enhance safety, improve community livability and provide mobility in one of Washington’s most economically important transportation corridors.

• These projects promote transit use and reliability by providing new HOV capacity between three of the state’s most vital employment centers.
• These improvements reduce greenhouse gas emissions, treat storm water, restore fish habitat and build new noise walls.
• These projects support jobs in an area experiencing significant business closures and unemployment.
• Innovative design involving “lids” over highway sections reconnect communities with landscaping and pedestrian, bicycle and transit facilities.
• The latest in traffic management and commuter information technology will support better individual decisions regarding choices of travel mode, time of day and route.

Download the SR 520 Medina to SR 202 Application (pdf 1MB)

Columbia River Crossing (SR 500 Interchange) - $147 million
WSDOT proposes to use TIGER funds for rebuilding the I-5/SR 500 interchange to improve traffic flow between SR 500 and I-5 in Clark County. Regardless of the ultimate configuration and timing of the overall CRC project, these improvements increase safety, reduce congestion and improve the region’s transportation system.

• Rebuilding the SR 500 Interchange is crucial to help mitigate construction impacts when the larger I-5 Columbia River Crossing bridge replacement project gets underway. The larger freeway style interchange will accommodate heavier traffic volumes and serve as a good alternate route through the area.
• This project by itself will provide jobs in a county experiencing one of the highest unemployment rates in Washington and will improve access to commercial and industrial areas for long term economic growth.
• The project improves mobility to and from I-5, an interstate USDOT designated as a Corridor of the Future because of its importance to west coast interstate travel and international trade and commerce.
• Pedestrians and bicyclists will have improved access to the local community and the rebuilt interchange benefits the environment by improving water quality through stormwater facility upgrades.
  

Download the SR 500 Interchange application (pdf 822kb)

North Spokane Freeway - $35 million
The North Spokane Freeway TIGER project would fully fund the construction of the Francis Avenue to Farwell Road - Southbound Lanes. This project is shovel-ready, and finalizes the last piece of construction between Francis Avenue and US 395, completing more than half of the 10-mile North Spokane Corridor. The northbound lanes of this project have already been completed and are currently carrying both northbound and southbound traffic.

• The $35 million US395 North Spokane Corridor project adds 3.7 miles of new highway to an economically important, NAFTA corridor in Eastern Washington.
• This project reinforces our considerable state investment in completing a multimodal corridor that includes highway, pedestrian/bicycle facilities, trails, park and ride lots, and right-of-way for high capacity transit.
• The project is “shovel ready”—construction can begin with the award of funds.
• The project creates a route for through traffic, reducing congestion on local city streets.
• The project will provide direct job benefits during construction, while providing long term benefits to economically distressed areas of Spokane through better access to job and commercial centers in the region.

Download the North Spokane Freeway Corridor application (pdf 3MB)


View FAQs about the application process.