Port of Muskogee to seek TIGER VII funds for rail project

Port of Muskogee officials have submitted a pre-application for an $8 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery VII (TIGER) grant that would help fund an $11.58 million rail-improvement project at the Oklahoma port.

The Muskogee City-County Port Authority's board recently authorized a $3.5 million match should the federal TIGER grant be issued, according to a Muskogee Phoenix news article posted on the port's website. The U.S. Department of Transportation has allocated $500 million for TIGER VII funds.

The proposed project would expand the port's marshaling yard and help accommodate six-axle locomotives. Currently, the port can accommodate four-axle locomotives.

Port Director Scott Robinson said a recent upgrade of the McClellan-Kerr Arkansas River Navigation System as a corridor of the national Marine Highway Route could improve the authority’s chances of landing the TIGER grant, according to the article.