TIFIA Grant Requests Outpace DOT Supply 107-to-1

Requests to Department of Transportation for infrastructure loans in fiscal 2013 outpaced supply nearly 107-to-1, as Congress and President Obama push to increase funding for the agency’s program.

The Transportation Infrastructure Financing and Innovative Act has annual funding of roughly $122 million and received more than $13 billion in loan applications. The requests for infrastructure financing have been more than $11 billion annually for the past three years, the DOT said.

Appropriations for 2012 include $175 million for TIFIA and the Transportation Investment Generating Economy Recovery program, which can be leveraged to about $1.75 billion in credit assistance.

Both the Senate and House’s surface transportation plans would increase funding to TIFIA to $1 billion annually. President Obama’s fiscal 2013 budget calls for the program funding to be raised to $560 million annually.

Department Secretary Ray LaHood said the high demand “shows how much communities across America want to upgrade their roads, transit and rail.”

Contact R.G. Edmonson at bedmonson@joc.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobinWash.