Atlanta — TIGER Application Filed

June 2015

Atlanta is seeking a $29.3 million federal TIGER grant to extend its 2.7-mile modern streetcar line 1.8 miles to the Belt Line at a total project cost of $65.4 million that would include buying two streetcars and adding a new electrical substation, Atlanta Business Chronicle reports.

The city's chief operating officer Michael Geisler believes the city has a good chance of winning the grant. "According to a blog post by U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, the department has received more than 950 pre-applications for TIGER 7 funds from all 50 states requesting nearly $14.5 billion – 29 times the $500 million set aside for the program. Announcement of grant awards could happen by October.

Geisler said he thinks Atlanta’s application will be competitive because the city is able to quantify the impact that the existing streetcar has had. Since the streetcar corridor was announced in 2010, there has been $560 million in new investment along the route..."

Atlanta won a $47 million TIGER 2 grant, the largest in that round, for the first phase of the streetcar. The total project cost $98 million- including four streetcars and the maintenance facility.