USDOT boosts TIGER IV grant allocation for Raleigh Union Station project

The U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) recently informed the city of Raleigh, N.C., that it increased a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) IV grant the city received last year for the Raleigh Union Station project from $21 million to $26.5 million.

The encouraging news followed another bit of good news the city received earlier this month, when the USDOT awarded a $10 million TIGER V grant for the project.

The $5.5 million increase to the TIGER IV grant for the first phase of construction will enable the city to acquire right of way associated with the project, and won't require an increase in the matching local funds being provided by the North Carolina Department of Transportation, city officials said in a press release. The grant was intended to pay for rail infrastructure required to move passenger services from the existing Amtrak station to a location inside the railroad wye track, they said.

The $10 million TIGER V grant will help fund the construction of a 26,000-square-foot multi-modal station to support commuter, intercity rail and bus services in downtown Raleigh, and replace a small Amtrak station built in 1950. The project involves a platform extension, the construction of a vehicle underpass to eliminate a grade crossing, track improvements adjacent to the new station and signal work.

The entire project is tentatively slated for completion in 2017.