TIGER funding for 2016

[kmock]

One of the early news releases indicates that the City of Springfield, Il will get $14 million to help with the relocation of trains from 3rd St. to 10th St. and includes money for a new multi-modal Amtrak and bus station.

http://www.sj-r.com/news/20160726/city-awarded-14m-in-federal-funding-for-next-phase-of-rail-relocation

 

[afigg]

This appears to be about a 2016 TIGER grant award, not the obligation of an earlier award. If so, US DOT is moving up the announcements of the winning applications from the September-October period of previous years to the end of July. Maybe trying to get the selections done before the politicians on the Hill and all the managers at US DOT vacate DC for much of August. So the 2016 TIGER grant selections could be announced over the next several days.

That noted, we have a thread on the 2016 TIGER and FASTLANE grant programs, where these posts should go.

 

[neroden]

Yep. This is money for more grade separations for the benefit of motor vehicle traffic. They don't directly benefit rail traffic; there's still lots of grade separations nearby with no plans to make a "crossing-free" area. In the long run, if they ever get the funding for the rest of the project, which involves running a new railroad line through the middle of people's houses and the Illinois EPA building (...we may never see this funding) they are part of a project to move the Amtrak station to a worse location.