North Avenue Revitalization Project in Baltimore to Receive $10 Million from U.S. Department of Transportation
Baltimore, MD – The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) today formally announced the award of a $10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to support the North Avenue Rising project in Baltimore, Maryland. Under Secretary of Transportation for Policy Blair Anderson joined U.S. Representative Elijah Cummings, Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake, and Maryland transportation officials for an event at Coppin State University in Baltimore to highlight the benefits of revitalizing North Avenue.
“The North Avenue Rising project will expand access to opportunity for local residents in Baltimore, including connecting people to jobs, education, and other vital services, and it will help make this vital corridor safer and more accessible,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx. “This project represents an investment in the future of Baltimore, and we’re proud to be able to support it with a TIGER grant.”
The TIGER program is designed to support multimodal projects that bring enhanced economic opportunity – projects that may not qualify for traditional funding sources.
“Over the past seven years, the TIGER program has enabled communities across the country to improve their transportation infrastructure to promote safety, create jobs, and increase economic opportunity for countless Americans,” said Under Secretary Blair Anderson. “TIGER grants make it possible for projects like North Avenue Rising to move forward here in Baltimore and around the country.”
The $10 million TIGER grant will support a larger $27.3 million project led by the Maryland Department of Transportation to improve approximately five miles of North Avenue with dedicated bus lanes, roadway repaving, transit signal priority installation, and creation of enhanced bus stops. Other project components will support access for cyclists and pedestrians, including sidewalk improvements, bike share stations, bike lanes, safety and accessibility enhancements, and improvements to a subway station.
North Avenue is a key east-west route in the heart of Baltimore that connects institutions like Coppin State University, the Maryland Institute College of Art, and the Station North Arts & Entertainment District. It serves the second most traveled bus transit route in the city and is also a designated truck route. The project will create a safer corridor through pedestrian improvements, enhanced bus stops, and transit infrastructure, and it will facilitate improved transit operations along the corridor, increasing access to employment centers and essential services for a low-income area.
The North Avenue Rising project is one of 40 projects across the country that received a 2016 TIGER grant award. The highly competitive TIGER grant program supports innovative projects, including multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional projects, which are difficult to fund through traditional federal programs. In total, nearly $500 million has been awarded this year to support transportation projects in 32 states and two U.S. territories to improve safety, increase economic competitiveness, and expand opportunity.
Demand for the 2016 TIGER grant program continued to far exceed available funds; the DOT received 585 eligible applications from all 50 States, and several U.S. territories, tribal communities, cities, and towns throughout the United States, collectively requesting over $9.3 billion in funding. Since 2009, the TIGER grant program has provided a combined $5.1 billion to 421 projects all across the country.
Learn more about TIGER grants at https://www.transportation.gov/tiger