Greater Pittsburgh Area gets large TIGER Grant (Reading, Harrisburg: appointed, sales)

[BrianTH]

So TIGER is a stimulus program that is giving out $1.5 billion in grants on a competitive basis to transportation projects intended to have a large economic impact (TIGER stands for "Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery"). Over $60 billion in proposals were submitted, and Obama is seeking additional TIGER funds for the future.

Anyway, they just announced the grants. I'm a little bummed that PAT didn't get a TIGER grant for Rapid Bus and GPS-enabled real-time information--maybe in future rounds. But the third-biggest grant in this round was $98 million for CSX's proposed "National Gateway" project, specifically the portion passing through the Pittsburgh area:

http://www.dot.gov/documents/finaltigergrantinfo.pdf (broken link)

You can read more about the National Gateway project here:

CSXT to speed up work on its National Gateway project*-*Railway Track and Structures (http://www.rtands.com/newsflash/csxt-to-speed-up-work-on-its-national-gateway-project.html - broken link)

And this is their website:

National Gateway

I'm not exactly sure what the TIGER grant specifically is going to fund, but the general idea is to increase intermodal freight shipments by double-stacked rail from the Mid-Atlantic coast (specifically the ports at Baltimore, Hampton Roads, and Wilmington (NC)) to the Midwest via Pittsburgh--in fact the plans include a new intermodal terminal in Pittsburgh. Part of the idea is to accomodate freight passing through the newly widened Panama Canal to the aforementioned ports and on into the interior of the country.

So while not quite as sexy as funding for rapid transit, this is pretty big deal for the Pittsburgh area economically.

[BrianTH]

By the way, the #1 and #2 grants are also both freight rail projects, and both tangentially related to the above project.

#1 was $105 million for Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor, a plan for an upgraded rail corridor from Memphis to New Jersey via Harrisburg and Philly. This won't pass directly through Pittsburgh and the grant is for terminals in Memphis and Birmingham, but I think it is safe to say the more freight passing through PA, the better eventually for Pittsburgh either directly or indirectly.

A little more directly relevant, #2 was $100 million for the CREATE program in Chicago, which is a host of projects designed to relieve a serious freight rail congestion/bottleneck problem in Chicago. The National Gateway project ends in Ohio, but it is specifically intended in part to also feed freight further along to Chicago, so addressing the Chicago bottleneck will in turn increase the value of the National Gateway route.

[pman]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

By the way, the #1 and #2 grants are also both freight rail projects, and both tangentially related to the above project.

#1 was $105 million for Norfolk Southern's Crescent Corridor, a plan for an upgraded rail corridor from Memphis to New Jersey via Harrisburg and Philly. This won't pass directly through Pittsburgh and the grant is for terminals in Memphis and Birmingham, but I think it is safe to say the more freight passing through PA, the better eventually for Pittsburgh either directly or indirectly.

A little more directly relevant, #2 was $100 million for the CREATE program in Chicago, which is a host of projects designed to relieve a serious freight rail congestion/bottleneck problem in Chicago. The National Gateway project ends in Ohio, but it is specifically intended in part to also feed freight further along to Chicago, so addressing the Chicago bottleneck will in turn increase the value of the National Gateway route.

that's the way I feel. more to the point, the rail corridor does not go through philly, it runs north of Philly to harrisburg via allentown from north jersey ports. the route connects to philly via Reading but that is not part of the crescent corridor. it benefits pittsburgh in that it improves pittsburgh's freight connection with the north jersey ports since the PRR's former main connects to the old Reading line (now part of the crescent corridor) at Harrisburg. It's not totally unrelated to CREATE and probably just as relevant for freight since it relieves congestion/improves freight movement on both ends of the Chicago-NY corridor in which Pittsburgh is a player. CREATE will eventually relieve a mroe serious bottleneck though and should more immediately improve passenger service into/out of chicago. the MI service is on time about 20-30% of the time because of this bottleneck. At any rate, getting back to the crescent corridor, they are building a new intermodal yard somewhere south of harrisburg as part of the project. I too am disappointed they did not receive funding for the bus rapid transit.

[BrianTH]

I was trying to understand what I was reading about the Crescent Corridor and Philly and not making much progress--thanks for the breakdown. As you suggest, Harrisburg works just fine for the point I was trying to make.

[pman]

Originally Posted by BrianTH

I was trying to understand what I was reading about the Crescent Corridor and Philly and not making much progress--thanks for the breakdown. As you suggest, Harrisburg works just fine for the point I was trying to make.

I have some trusty maps. Philly benefits from this about as much as Pitt. In the short run it will beenfit nroth jersey and New Orleans ports the most but in the long run, it should benefit any state it runs through in that any business located near it. one of the key benefits of pittsburgh in olden times (and still today) is that youc an frequently have reasonable access to two lines east (now NS and CSX) and multiple shippers west. Of course, if Rendell succeeds adding a sales tax to electricity bills on top of his gross recipts tax on it, it may not matter much. supposedly there's $280 million for inner city circulator grants, will PAT be applying for those?

[BrianTH]

Originally Posted by pman

supposedly there's $280 million for inner city circulator grants, will PAT be applying for those?

I was wondering that myself. It certainly seems like Rapid Bus should qualify, and my understanding was that a lot of similar TIGER proposals that didn't get funding were being converted into proposals for that program. So I certainly hope PA is looking at doing so.

Edit: Here is a link describing this program:

http://www.fta.dot.gov/news/news_events_10868.html

The key excerpt:

A maximum amount of $25 million per project will be made available from approximately $130 million in unallocated discretionary New Starts/Small Starts Program funds. Eligible projects include streetcars and other urban circulator systems. Priority will be given to projects that connect destinations and foster the redevelopment of communities into walkable, mixed use, high-density environments.

A second pot of money totaling $150 million in unallocated discretionary Bus and Bus Facility funds will be available for projects that will foster the preservation and enhancement of urban and rural communities by providing new mobility options which provide access to jobs, healthcare, and education, and/or contribute to the redevelopment of neighborhoods into pedestrian-friendly vibrant environments.

Rereading that, I am a little concerned it is more focused on funding services that currently don't exist than upgrading existing services. I think Rapid Bus could potentially count as a new service which would otherwise fit those criteria, but maybe someone else would see it differently.

By the way, it is becoming pretty clear that while this Administration likes BRT, it LOVES a nice streetcar proposal. So I hope PAT is dusting off all its Spine Line files and also thinking about possible streetcar projects.