FY 2015 National Infrastructure Investments | Apply Online

Opportunity Summary:

The FY 2015 National Infrastructure Investments opportunity (better known as TIGER 2015, or TIGER VII) was a U.S. Department of Transportation discretionary grant competition funded through the FY 2015 Appropriations Act. Congress provided a total of $500 million for DOT to award as competitive grants for capital investments in surface transportation infrastructure. The central purpose was to fund projects expected to produce outsized benefits and a meaningful impact at a national, metropolitan, or regional scale, rather than routine maintenance or small, localized improvements. DOT was also permitted to reserve a small portion of the appropriation for grant oversight and administrative costs, and it left the door open to issue additional solicitations if the first round did not obligate all available funds.

The grant size rules were clearly defined. For most projects, TIGER awards had to be at least $10 million and could not exceed $200 million. A key exception was provided for rural projects (using DOTs definition referenced in the solicitation), where the minimum award size dropped to $1 million. The law also imposed distribution guardrails to prevent the funding from clustering too heavily in one place: no more than 25 percent of total program funds (up to $125 million) could be awarded to projects in a single state. At the same time, Congress required that at least 20 percent of the total funds (at least $100 million) go to rural-area projects. DOT was further directed to take steps to achieve equitable geographic distribution, maintain a reasonable balance between urban and rural needs, and support a variety of transportation modes (so awards would not be concentrated only in one type of infrastructure).

The opportunity also came with strict timelines that influenced how DOT evaluated readiness. FY 2015 TIGER funds were only available for obligation through September 30, 2017, and they could not be spent after September 30, 2022. DOT explicitly noted that it would weigh whether a project was sufficiently ready to move forward and obligate federal funds within the statutory window. Importantly, these deadlines could not be waived, which meant applicants needed realistic schedules, clear delivery plans, and the ability to execute the grant agreement and begin implementation without major uncertainties.

A notable financing feature was the programs link to TIFIA credit assistance. Up to 20 percent of available TIGER funds (up to $100 million) could be used by DOT to cover subsidy and administrative costs for projects receiving TIFIA assistance, as long as doing so advanced the TIGER programs goals. In practice, this provision supported projects that used federal credit tools alongside grant funding, potentially enabling larger or more complex projects with blended financing strategies.

Eligibility was broad but limited to public-sector or quasi-public entities. Eligible applicants included state governments, local governments, tribal governments, U.S. territories, transit agencies, port authorities, metropolitan planning organizations, and other political subdivisions of state or local governments. The solicitation also allowed joint applications from multiple states or jurisdictions, but required a lead applicant to serve as the primary point of contact. Each participating party in a joint application had to be independently eligible, and the application had to spell out roles and responsibilities and include signatures from each party, reinforcing that governance and accountability needed to be clear upfront.

Applicants that had received TIGER funding in prior rounds were not excluded; they could apply for additional phases of an earlier TIGER-funded project. However, DOT signaled that competitiveness would depend on demonstrating strong performance on the earlier phase, including meeting schedule and budget expectations and showing credible progress toward the benefits originally promised. This essentially rewarded applicants that could show they delivered what they said they would deliver, and that the next phase was a logical extension with measurable additional value.

The application process had two mandatory stages with firm deadlines. A pre-application had to be submitted first, and DOT stated plainly that if an applicant did not submit a pre-application, the final application would not be considered. Pre-applications were due by 11:59 PM Eastern on May 4, 2015. Final applications were submitted through Grants.gov, with the Apply function opening May 5, 2015, and final submissions due by 11:59 PM Eastern on June 5, 2015. DOT emphasized that Grants.gov registration typically takes 2 to 4 weeks, so applicants were expected to start registration well before the submission window if they were not already registered.

DOTs late-submission policy was strict, especially for final applications. Late final applications were generally not considered, with narrow exceptions only for validated, unforeseen technical difficulties on the governments submission platforms (either the pre-application site or Grants.gov) that were beyond the applicants control. Applicants had to contact DOT before the deadline and provide specific documentation, such as details of the issue, screenshots with the Grants.gov tracking number, the legal business name used on the SF-424, the authorized organizational representative name, the DUNS number, and help desk tracking numbers. DOT also spelled out what would not qualify as an excuse, including failure to complete registration on time, failure to follow posted instructions, failure to follow the notice requirements, or problems with the applicants own computers or IT environment.

Administratively, DOT expected that each awarded TIGER grant would be managed by the appropriate modal administration (for example, the Federal Highway Administration, Federal Transit Administration, etc.), under a grant agreement between the recipient and that modal office. The official opportunity identifiers included Funding Opportunity Number DTOS59-15-RA-TIGER7 and CFDA 20.933 (National Infrastructure Investments). The opportunity was posted April 10, 2015, and carried an estimated total funding amount of $500,000,000, with an award ceiling of $200,000,000 and an award floor of $1,000,000 (reflecting the rural minimum). Cost sharing or matching was required, meaning applicants needed to bring non-federal resources to the table as part of the overall project funding plan.

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