Southern California has just scored more than $30 million in transportation dollars from the federal government for projects ranging from bike lanes in downtown LA to additional freeway lanes to ease congestion in Diamond Bar.  

The money comes from the latest Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery - or TIGER - grants.

U.S. Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx announced Friday that a $10 million dollar grant to the Cities of Industry and Diamond Bar will be spent to reduce traffic jams at the confluence of state routes 57 and 60, to "make a highway safer that currently sees 27 accidents per mile every year."  That project will include the construction of auxiliary lanes at the Grand Avenue interchange.

There’s also nearly $12 million to add a network of sidewalks and bike lanes in downtown LA’s Little Tokyo neighborhood and an additional $10.25 million make it easier for bicyclists and pedestrians to get to the Rosa Parks Blue Line station in South LA.

The chairman of Metro's board, LA Mayor Eric Garcetti, thanked the region's "federal partners," saying the projects will help people "connect to other communities across our region by offering new ways to get to where they want to go -- quicker, cheaper, and greener -- with no traffic."

Secretary Foxx used the occasion, announcing $600 million in grants nationwide, to prod Congress to approve long-term transportation funding. A temporary extension runs out in May. 

The TIGER grant program was created in the 2009 economic stimulus bill. The Department of Transportation says projects that have a "significant impact on the nation, a metropolitan area or a region" are eligible for grants.