Baltimore City has been awarded a $10 million Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to restore functionality to and enhance a freight network of roads and bridges that connects the Port of Baltimore to regional and national highway systems.
As reported by Better Roads, the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded a total of $500 million in TIGER grants to 39 transportation projects across the country.
TIGER grants “recognize projects nationwide that will advance key transportation goals such as safety, innovation and opportunity.” USDOT said this year, which is the seventh round of the program, the agency received 627 applications from all 50 states and several territories. These applications were valued at $10.1 billion or 20 times the allocated amount.
A USDOT project description document further describes the “Southeast Baltimore Port Industry Freight Corridor Plan,”
The project includes improvements along the Broening Highway freight corridor to better, and more safely, connect the Port of Baltimore to the regional and national road network. The Colgate Creek Bridge will enable trucks, which are currently weight-restricted, to pass through uninterrupted,facilitating the movement and access of goods to I-95. Additionally, the project will improve safety and the quality of life in an urban neighborhood by redirecting truck traffic away from residential communities and creating a buffer between residential and industrial land uses. The project is located five miles southeast of downtown Baltimore in an economically disadvantaged neighborhood.
A prior post on Conduit Street contains additional information on the project.
