Washington, D.C. — Sens. Amy Klobuchar and Al Franken (D-Minn.), Transportation Committee Chairman Jim Oberstar, 8th District Representative and 4th District Rep. Betty McCollum all praised the award of $35 million in Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) funding to the St. Paul Union Depot Multi-Modal Transit and Transportation Hub.
“For decades, the Union Depot served as the transportation hub of the Midwest,” said Sen. Klobuchar. “These funds will bring new life to the historic Depot, create over 1,000 jobs for the region, and, when complete, will provide the multi-modal transportation options Minnesotans deserve.”
“The St. Paul Union Depot project will create jobs and provide safer, cleaner, and more affordable transit choices,” said Sen. Franken. “This funding gets us one step closer to making this project a reality and spurring growth in downtown St. Paul.”
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Today’s TIGER grant will partially fund the Union Depot project. Estimated total costs exceed $237 million. The project will renovate the city’s historic Union Depot and co-locate Amtrak, intercity bus carriers, local bus, light rail services, taxis, and bicycle accommodations. The depot could provide future capacity for high-speed rail and other planned inter-city and light rail services.
The TIGER Discretionary Grant Program is administered by the Department of Transportation and was included in the Recovery Act to spur a national competition for innovative, multi-modal, and multi-jurisdictional transportation projects that promise significant economic and environmental benefits to an entire metropolitan area, a region, or the nation. Projects funded include improvements to roads, bridges, rail, ports, transit, and intermodal facilities.
