U.S. to award up to $527 million for infrastructure

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Wed Dec 14, 2011 6:59pm EST

(Reuters) - The Obama administration is expected on Thursday to announce up to $527 million in grants for transportation projects nationwide.

The oversubscribed Tiger program awards money to states and local governments for road, bridge, rail, port and other priority infrastructure projects.

Transportation Department officials said last month there were 820 applications for $527 million in available grant funding.

Congress has been struggling to approve a long-term transportation funding bill, heightening interest outside of Washington for any additional sources of federal money.

The administration has proposed $2 billion in Tiger funding for 2012, but the fate of the initiative is unclear with deficits high and all federal spending under closer scrutiny in Congress.

The Transportation Department funded more than 90 projects worth more than $2.1 billion in the first two years of the Tiger program.

(Reporting By John Crawley; Editing by Andrew Hay)
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Comments (2)
ProfMagyar wrote:
Finally some good news….any economist worth a darn would agree that if the goal is to spur economic growth – getting the most bang for your buck – infrastructure spending is the way to go.

Dec 14, 2011 11:33pm EST  --  Report as abuse
JeffersonC wrote:
Having driven from Seattle, WA to Arlington, VA, last October, I can personally attest to the disgraceful condition of the interstate system. As can my car which needed $1000 in repairs from potholed roads. As can my nerves that frayed in the bumper-tbumper congestion around every city. I would take the train back, but since the rail lines haven’t been upgraded since the 40s, it would take twice as long. Now that we are leaving Iraq, could we PLEASE spend that 3 billion a week rebuilding our roads, rais, airports, and ports?

Dec 15, 2011 11:15am EST  --  Report as abuse
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