U.S. Department of Transportation Announces $10 Million TIGER Grant for Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market

Rail Upgrades Will Reduce Truck Traffic, Improve Air Quality and Add Rail Capacity at One of the World’s Largest Wholesale Markets

NEW YORK – The U.S. Department of Transportation today announced a $10 million TIGER grant to make freight rail improvements at the Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market in the Bronx, one of the world’s largest wholesale markets attracting agricultural goods from across the country.  The project is one of 47 transportation projects in 34 states and the District of Columbia selected to receive funding under the U.S. Department of Transportation’s highly competitive $500 million TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) 2012 program.

“This grant for Hunts Point means construction jobs today, while providing both cleaner air and greater economic benefits for the future,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood.  “President Obama’s support for an America built to last is putting people back to work across the country building roads, bridges and other projects that will mean better, safer transportation and a strong economic foundation for years to come.” 

Planned improvements include building a receiving warehouse specifically for rail shipments, adding rail capacity by constructing additional sorting and storage tracks and rehabilitating rail spurs, and creating new traffic patterns that will reduce congestion and help separate rail and truck traffic that currently share the loading docks.  The planned upgrades will help improve the efficiency of freight rail service and allow the Hunts Point Market to move a greater share of the produce shipped into the terminal. The project will also eliminate major conflicts between truck and rail movements, reduce truck idling in the market, improve air quality and reduce traffic on the Hunts Point road network. The grant covers nearly half of the $20.6 million project cost.

“This is yet another example of how federal, state and local governments are working hard to improve rail service and grow our economy,” said Federal Railroad Administrator Joseph Szabo.

The freight rail improvements will immediately benefit the existing Hunts Point Terminal Produce Market and complement a larger redevelopment project in which two state-of-the-art warehouses will be built, followed by truck traffic circulation improvements.  Both phases are expected to attract more producers and buyers to the market. 

The TIGER program is a highly competitive program that funds innovative projects that are difficult or impossible to fund through other federal programs.  In many cases, these grants will serve as the final piece of funding for infrastructure investments totaling $1.7 billion in overall project costs.  These federal funds are being leveraged with money from private sector partners, states, local governments, metropolitan planning organizations and transit agencies. 

TIGER has enjoyed overwhelming demand since its creation, a trend continued by TIGER 2012.  Applications for this most recent round of grants totaled $10.2 billion, far exceeding the $500 million set aside for the program.  In all, the Department received 703 applications from all 50 states, U.S. territories and the District of Columbia.

The grants will fund a wide range of innovative transportation projects in urban and rural areas across the country:

• Of the $500 million in TIGER 2012 funds available for grants, more than $120 million will go to critical projects in rural areas.

• Roughly 35 percent of the funding will go to road and bridge projects, including more than $30 million for the replacement of rural roads and bridges that need improvements to address safety and state of good repair deficiencies.

• 16 percent of the funding will support transit projects like the Wave Streetcar Project in Fort Lauderdale.

• 13 percent of the funding will support high-speed and intercity passenger rail projects like the Raleigh Union Station Project in North Carolina.

• 12 percent will go to freight rail projects, including elements of the CREATE (Chicago Region Environmental and Transportation Efficiency) program to reduce freight rail congestion in Chicago.

• 12 percent will go to multimodal, bicycle and pedestrian projects like the Main Street to Main Street Multimodal Corridor project connecting Memphis and West Memphis.

• 12 percent will help build port projects like the Outer Harbor Intermodal Terminal at the Port of Oakland.

• Three grants were also directed to tribal governments to create jobs and address critical transportation needs in Indian country.

Over the next six months, 27 projects are expected to break ground from the previous three rounds of TIGER.  In addition, work is under way on 64 capital projects across the country.

On November 18, 2011, the President signed the FY 2012 Appropriations Act, which provided $500 million for Department of Transportation national infrastructure investments.  Like the first three rounds, TIGER 2012 grants are for capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure and are awarded on a competitive basis.  This is the fourth round of TIGER funding.

Under all four rounds combined, the TIGER program has provided $3.1 billion to 218 projects in all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.  Demand for the program has been overwhelming, and during all four rounds, the Department of Transportation received more than 4,050 applications requesting more than $105.2 billion for transportation projects across the country.

The fiscal year 2013 appropriations bill currently under consideration in the U.S. Senate provides $500 million for a future round of TIGER grants. 

Click here for additional information on individual TIGER grants http://www.dot.gov/tiger/fy2012tiger.pdf