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The clock is ticking for state, local and tribal governments to submit applications for some of the $600 million available in U.S. Department of Transportation grant money.

Applications are due April 28 for the sixth round of the Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant program, which was created in 2009 as part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

“We expect there will be a lot of interest in this next round,” said Travis Brouwer, federal affairs director for Oregon Department of Transportation, which works with local governments to provide advice on grant applications. “There were a large number that applied for the last round.”

The money is critical for non-highway transportation projects, which typically are not eligible for federal transit dollars from the Highway Trust Fund. Those dollars are reserved for highway transit, bike and pedestrian-oriented projects, Brouwer said.

Among the applications that did not receive funding previously, but could be resubmitted, according to ODOT, include: a $20 million request for seismic bridge retrofits on Interstate 84, Oregon Route 58 and U.S. Route 97, and a $55.9 million request for the Three Cape Scenic Drive rehabilitation and enhancement project.

During the grant program’s first five years Oregon has received $66.5 million – about 2 percent of the money allocated, Brouwer said. Last year, he added, only one Oregon project received money – a Port of Garibaldi wharf revitalization that got $1.5 million.

“Oregon does extremely well in the program,” he said. “The state is very aggressive in seeking grants.”

In 2011, the Sellwood Bridge project received a $17.7 million TIGER grant that helped prepare for construction.

“There were a multitude of partners who had put a lot of work into that,” Brouwer said. “They just needed that last increment of funding to move that project forward. The TIGER grant provided that last increment.”

Of the $600 million available in this round, at least $120 million will be set aside for projects in rural areas, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation. Separately, $35 million may be used for planning, preparation or design of eligible projects.

In urban areas, grants will be awarded for projects as small as $10 million and as large as $200 million. Rural projects could be eligible for grants as small as $1 million.

The U.S. DOT, as part of its evaluation process, will determine whether a project will be ready for construction by Sept. 30, 2016.

More information is available at or by calling ODOT at 503-986-3448.