Florida DOT won't seek TIGER grant for SunRail extension to DeLand

The Florida Department of Transportation (FDOT) has decided at the "11th hour" that it will not apply for a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant that would have helped fund a proposed 12-mile extension of the SunRail commuter-rail line and a new station in DeLand, Fla., local news media reported yesterday.

The department changed its mind after learning that if the state receives the grant, it would not be as much as previously thought, according to a report in The West Volusia Beacon.

FDOT officials previously had indicated the state would seek the TIGER grant, but then learned it would not fund the department's project cost-sharing goal of 50 percent funded with federal dollars, 25 percent with state money and the remaining 25 percent shared by local communities.

An FDOT spokesman said the state would continue to look for other funding, the newspaper reported.

FDOT's decision means that for now, SunRail's northern-most stop will remain in DeBary, Fla.

SunRail is a Central Florida commuter-rail system serving Orlando, Volusia, Seminole and Orange counties. Its 32-mile route runs from DeBary in Volusia County to Sand Lake Road in Orange County.