Chattanooga may yet again pursue federal transportation money to help pay for an expansion of Wilcox Tunnel.
On April 26, the City Council is scheduled to vote on a resolution authorizing Mayor Andy Berke to apply for a Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery grant - known as a TIGER - "for an amount to be determined to improve the existing Wilcox Tunnel and create a new tunnel."
Last year, Chattanooga sought a $27 million TIGER grant for the project, which has been estimated to cost at least $50 million.
Vehicles travel Monday, April 4, 2016 through the Wilcox Tunnel. The tunnel was recently reopened to traffic after renovations.Failing to receive the grant last year, the city embarked last August upon an eight-month, $1.53 million makeover of the tunnel, including water sealant measures, a new lighting system and improved pedestrian railing. The Wilcox Tunnel is in District 9, which is represented by Councilman Yusuf Hakeem, and provides a corridor to District 5, which is represented by Councilman Russell Gilbert.
If the U.S. Department of Transportation does not award a TIGER grant to Chattanooga for the Wilcox Tunnel overhaul this year, the city may need to explore other avenues, Hakeem said.
"We need to sit around the table and discuss the various options," he said.
Hakeem said officials should decide how to address Chattanooga's road issues with incoming state and federal dollars.
The city has explored public-private partnerships to pay for the tunnel's proposed overhaul and may revisit the idea, Hakeem said.
He said he did not see a property tax as a way of funding an additional tunnel.
The minimum TIGER grant is $5 million for urban areas, and the average award size is $14.5 million, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation website.
In community meetings held in early 2015, former city council member John Taylor said there was a plan to add a tunnel 25 years ago.
"When we want to fix other things, we can fix it and find the money," Taylor said.
Unlike other Chattanooga area tunnels that are subject to state jurisdiction and maintenance, the Wilcox Tunnel is owned entirely by the city.
The tunnel was opened April 22, 1931, and named for Hamilton County Highway Commission Chairman T.S. Wilcox.
Contact staff writer Paul Leach at 423-757-6481 or pleach@timesfreepress.com.