Today, U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced $3.33 billion in grant awards for 132 projects through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Neighborhood Access and Equity discretionary grant programs. The funding aims to reconnect communities that were cut off by transportation infrastructure decades ago.
“While the purpose of transportation is to connect, in too many communities past infrastructure decisions have served instead to divide. Now the Biden-Harris administration is acting to fix that,” said Buttigieg. “Today we are proud to announce an unprecedented $3.3 billion to help 132 communities deliver better infrastructure that reconnects residents to jobs, health care, and other essentials.”
In this round of funding for the Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Neighborhood Access and Equity program, the Department is awarding 72 Planning Grants, 52 Capital Construction grants and 8 Regional Planning Grants. Awarded projects include:
- The Broadway Main Street and Supporting Connections is awarded to Portland, Ore. The project will construct multimodal safety and streetscape improvements across Interstate 5 (I-5) in inner North/Northeast Portland, Ore.
- The Reconnecting Rexburg: Planning & Designing Connections Across US Hwy 20 project in Rexburg, Idaho will address the impacts of the construction of US Highway 20, which had a profound impact on Rexburg residents.
- The Chinatown Stitch project in Philadelphia, Pa. will complete the first phase of design and construction work for a highway cap to reconnect Chinatown, a community that is disproportionately impacted by the Vine Street Expressway (I-676).
For a ful list of projects, click here.
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Source: USDOT
