The State Road & Tollway Authority announced that $13 million in grant and loan funding is available for local governments and community improvement districts through the Georgia Transportation Infrastructure Bank program.

GTIB is a revolving infrastructure investment fund that awards grants and loans to help jumpstart or complete much needed transportation improvement projects in Georgia.  Now in its sixth round, the GTIB program continues to improve mobility and enhance communities throughout the State of Georgia. The GTIB application window opened Jan. 22 and closes on Thursday, March 22.

“The GTIB program has proved to be a popular and successful model of providing valuable financial assistance for transportation projects that improve mobility, sustain development and enable local communities to thrive,” SRTA Executive Director Christopher Tomlinson said. “The program demonstrates the powerful impact of collaboration between the state and local partners throughout Georgia.”

Since its inception in 2009, the GTIB program has provided $106 million in grants and loans, which has supported more than $630 million in total project value for transportation infrastructure improvements. GTIB has funded a variety of projects including an interstate gateway project in Bulloch County, a roadway improvement project in Athens-Clark County, and diverging diamond interchanges in the Perimeter, Gwinnett Place, Jimmy Carter Boulevard and Cumberland/Cobb areas.

GTIB is a competitive program, with each loan and grant application evaluated based on engineering value, economic impact, local matching funds, project feasibility and proximity to construction. For grant requests of $2 million or more, the maximum that can be applied for is 33 percent of the total project value. There is no cap for grant requests under $2 million, but applicants are encouraged to provide as much local match as possible in order for the project to be competitive. There are no caps for loan applications, since the loan payback serves as the local match.

GTIB is currently funded through state motor fuel taxes, which means applications are restricted to road and bridge projects only.