Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) Program

 

To finance projects of national or regional significance by filling market gaps and leveraging substantial non-Federal and private co-investment. Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (TIFIA) credit assistance is intended to facilitate the financing of projects that would otherwise have been significantly delayed because of funding limitations or difficulties accessing the capital markets. Through TIFIA, the DOT provides Federal credit assistance to eligible highway, transit, rail, and intermodal freight projects, including access to seaports. The Fixing Americas Surface Transportation Act (FAST), enacted in December 2015, authorized the establishment of a Regional Infrastructure Accelerator Demonstration Program (the Program) to assist entities in developing improved infrastructure priorities and financing strategies for the accelerated development of a project that is eligible for funding under the TIFIA Program. The Build America Bureau issued a NOFO on December 8, 2020, to implement the Program.

General information about this opportunity
Last Known Status
Active
Program Number
20.223
Federal Agency/Office
Office of The Secretary, Department of Transportation
Type(s) of Assistance Offered
E - Direct Loans; F - Guaranteed/Insured Loans
Program Accomplishments
Fiscal Year 2017 As of June 26, 2017, the Department has closed seven TIFIA loans totaling 1.9 billion in transportation infrastructure investments and is in position to close additional loans by the end of the fiscal year. The seven loans that have closed are Chesapeake Bay Bridge and Tunnel, IH-35 E, West Side Purple Line Section II, Sound Transit’s Northgate project, Monroe Expressway project, C-470 Express Lanes, and the BelRed Street Network project.
Fiscal Year 2021 During the FY2022 through July 2022, the USDOT approved 11 TIFIA loans totaling over $3.8 billion, including $1.7 billion for the Purple Line Transit Project, over $1 billion to Capital Beltway Expressway LLC to refinance their existing loan and extend additional credit, $200 million for a bridge replacement project in Maryland, over $38 million for 8 rural projects in Oklahoma, and over $113 million to Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development (LADOTD)for two rural projects in the state of Louisiana.
Fiscal Year 2023 To date, DOT’s Build America Bureau has closed more than $39 billion in TIFIA financings, supporting more than $133 billion in infrastructure investments across the country. In FY2023, the TIFIA Rural Projects Initiative (RPI) was established to offer loans for up to 49 percent of the project’s eligible costs and at fixed interest rates equal to one half of the Treasury rate.
Authorization
Transportation Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act of 1998, Public Law 105-178, U.S.C.
TEA 21 Restoration Act
Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU)
Moving Ahead for Progress in the 21st Century Act (MAP-21)
Fixing America's Surface Transportation (FAST) Act
Who is eligible to apply/benefit from this assistance?
Applicant Eligibility
Public or private entities seeking to finance, design, construct, own, or operate an eligible surface transportation project may apply for TIFIA assistance. Examples of such entities include state departments of transportation; local governments; transit agencies; special authorities; special districts; railroad companies; and private firms or consortia that may include companies specializing in engineering, construction, materials, and/or the operation of transportation facilities.
Beneficiary Eligibility
Public or private entities seeking to finance, design, construct, own, or operate an eligible surface transportation project. Examples include state departments of transportation; local governments; transit agencies; special authorities; special districts; railroad companies; and private firms or consortia that may include companies specializing in engineering, construction, materials, and/or the operation of transportation facilities.
Credentials/Documentation
All applicants must demonstrate relevant experience, strong qualifications, a sound project approach, all necessary funding commitments, and a project that can demonstrate financial feasibility. Applicants also must meet various Federal standards for participation in a Federal credit program. For example, applicant may not be delinquent or in default on any Federal debts. Such requirements will be specified in the contractual documents between the DOT and each applicant.
What is the process for applying and being award this assistance?
Pre-Application Procedure
Preapplication coordination is required. An environmental impact statement is required for this listing. An environmental impact assessment is required for this listing. For more information, please visit the TIFIA website at https://buildamerica.dot.gov/financing/tifia.
Application Procedure
2 CFR 200, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards applies to this program. DOT reviews Letters of Interest for TIFIA credit assistance on a "first come, first served" basis. Projects are reviewed to ensure they meet the eligibility requirements under all applicable regulations and statutes, as well as for financial feasibility. Upon receiving notification that the project meets the basic eligibility criteria, the USDOT will invite a project sponsor to an application. The application form is available on the TIFIA web site at: https://buildamerica.dot.gov/financing/tifia/applying.
Award Procedure
USDOT will evaluate application and advise applicant of approval or disapproval. Final approved is reserved by the Secretary of Transportation.
Deadlines
Not applicable.
Approval/Disapproval Decision Time
From 60 to 90 days. After a complete application has been filed with all supporting documents, processing time is approximately 60 to 90 days. The average time to execute a TIFIA credit agreement from the date of Secretarial approval is 1 to 6 months.
Appeals
Not applicable.
Renewals
Not applicable.
How are proposals selected?
DOT reviews Letters of Interest for TIFIA credit assistance on a "first come, first served" basis. Projects are reviewed to ensure they meet the eligibility requirements under all applicable regulations and statutes, as well as for financial feasibility.
How may assistance be used?
Eligible projects include highway, transit, passenger rail, intercity bus vehicles and facilities, certain port facilities, surface transportation facilities at airports, rural infrastructure projects, transit oriented development projects (TOD), and any other type of project that is eligible for grant assistance under title 23 or Chapter 53 of Title 49 of the United States Code. Additionally, under the FAST Act, TIFIA credit assistance may be used to capitalize State Infrastructure Banks (SIBs) to fund rural infrastructure projects.
What are the requirements after being awarded this opportunity?
Reporting
Performance Reports: Performance reports are required as a condition of the TIFIA loan agreement.
Auditing
Not applicable.
Records
Documentary evidence that may be requested for each project includes: audited financial statements, updated budget and cash flow projections, audit reports, sources and uses of funds, coverage ratios, project schedules, operating statistics, and management updates (within no more than 180 days following the recipient's fiscal year-end). In addition, the credit agreement obligates the borrower to provide the DOT an annual update to the project's financial plan in accordance with specified requirements. Each borrower will be required to give notice to the DOT of material events, including litigation, which could affect project development or the credit quality of the project. All such records must be kept until five (5) years after the TIFIA loan shall have been paid in full.
Other Assistance Considerations
Formula and Matching Requirements
Statutory formula is not applicable to this assistance listing.

Matching requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.

MOE requirements are not applicable to this assistance listing.
Length and Time Phasing of Assistance
As a part of the application package, the borrower provides a projected timetable for the completion of the project. The funding will be made available to reimburse the Borrower for prior payment of allowable costs incurred in connection with the project. Lending commitment available at closing, though loan disbursements are made upon borrower request based on eligible project expenditures.
Who do I contact about this opportunity?
Regional or Local Office
None/Not specified.
Headquarters Office
Roger Bohnert
Room W12-401
1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE
Washington , DC 20590 US
buildamerica@dot.gov
Phone: 2023662300
Website Address
https://buildamerica.dot.gov/buildamerica/financing/tifia
Financial Information
Account Identification
69-4145-0-3-401
Obligations
(Direct Loans) FY 22$2,728,188,018.00; FY 23 est $1,000,000,000.00; FY 24 est $4,600,000,000.00; FY 21$3,110,211,200.00; FY 20$2,262,920,008.00; FY 19$1,535,133,564.00; FY 18$1,235,863,164.00; FY 17 est $3,982,000,000.00; -
Range and Average of Financial Assistance
The minimum TIFIA credit assistance is approximately $3.3 million, though the smallest TIFIA loan to date has been $8.449 million. The largest single TIFIA loan was in the amount of $1.7 billion, though the maximum amount of any TIFIA loan is constrained by availability of budgetary resources.
Regulations, Guidelines and Literature
See the Build America Bureau website at https://buildamerica.dot.gov/buildamerica/financing/program-guide.
Examples of Funded Projects
Fiscal Year 2017 In November of 2016, a $385 million TIFIA loan was approved for the IH-35 E project. The Project is the initial phase in a multi-phase project to reconstruct and expand a 28-mile section of IH35E between IH635 to US380 in Texas. In November of 2016, a $339 million TIFIA loan was approved for the Chesapeake Bay Bridge project. The project is located in Norfolk/Virginia Beach and connects the area to Virginia’s Eastern Shore. The project is 17.6 mile toll Tunnel. In December of 2016, a $307 million TIFIA loan was approved for the West Side Purple Line project. The Project entails the construction of the second section of a three-section, 9-mile underground heavy rail line that will extend the existing Metro Purple line along Wilshire Boulevard to a new western terminus in West Los Angeles near the Veterans Affairs Hospital in Westwood. Section 2 extends the line another 2.6 miles through the cities of Los Angeles and Beverly Hills and includes two new stations and the procurement of 20 heavy rail cars. In December of 2016, a $615 million TIFIA loan was approved for the Northgate project. The Project expands the Borrower’s existing transit system in the Seattle, Washington, area, by adding 4.3 miles of light rail, running mostly underground, and three stations at Northgate Transit Center, Roosevelt neighborhood, and the University District near the west side of the University of Washington Campus. In February of 2017, a $166 million TIFIA loan was approved for the Monroe Expressway project. The Monroe Expressway Project is a new, four-lane tolled expressway that will extend nearly 20 miles from US 74 near I-485 in Mecklenburg County to US 74 between the towns of Wingate and Marshville in Union County, North Carolina. In June of 2017, a $107 million TIFIA loan was approved for the C-470 Express Lanes project. The project is a 26-mile highway that runs along the southern and western part of the Denver metropolitan area, linking the intersection of I-25 and E-470 in the east, to the intersection of US-36 and I-70 in the west. The project is intended to deliver additional capacity along this congested corridor by adding express tolled lanes (ETLs) and improving road layout over approximately 11.2 miles of the highway. In June of 2017, a $100 million TIFIA loan was approved for the BelRed Street Network project. The City of Bellevue, Washington is developing the BelRed Street Network (Project), a combination of 12 multimodal roadways, to support the new BelRed neighborhood in the heart of the City. The Project, along with the introduction of East Link light rail by Sound Transit, is intended to provide a catalyst for redevelopment of the BelRed neighborhood to be connected, multi-modal, pedestrian-friendly, and transit-oriented.
Fiscal Year 2020 During FY2020, USDOT approved a TIFIA loan of up to $13,080,000 to the San Luis Obispo Regional Transit Authority (RTA) in California. This was the first loan approved TIFIA Rural Project Initiative. The RTA decided to construct a facility large enough to accommodate its current vehicle fleet and allow room for future expansion. Once complete, the project will provide the RTA with a 28,650 square-foot facility on 6.44-acres of land – a facility three times larger than the current space.
Fiscal Year 2022 In FY202, USDOT approved a TIFIA loan of up to $1.7 billion to the Purple Line Transit Partners for the Purple Line Transit Project. The loan will help finance construction costs associated with the 16.2 mile, 21-station, east-west light rail transit line that extends through several communities in Maryland, from Bethesda in Montgomery County to New Carrollton in PG County.
Fiscal Year 2023 In FY2023, DOT’s Build America Bureau provided low-interest loans totaling $327 million to the Central Puget Sound Regional Transit Authority (Sound Transit). The loans financed one RRIF project and two TIFIA projects: Hilltop Tacoma Link Extension and Elevated Light Rail Platform Along Lynnwood Link Extension. The $93 million loan for the Hilltop Tacoma project will extend the light rail line by 2.4 miles, build six new stations and relocate one station, purchase five new light rail vehicles, improve bike/pedestrian infrastructure and expand an operations and maintenance facility.

 



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