USDOT Issues ‘Reconnecting Communities’ Grants

March 15, 2024

The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded more than $3.3 billion via its Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhood Access and Equity (RCN) discretionary grant program to 132 infrastructure projects in 41 states and the District of Columbia.

[Above photo by USDOT]

The agency noted that the RCN program is a combination of the Reconnecting Communities Pilot from the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act and the Neighborhood Access and Equity discretionary grant program created by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Grants from both programs seek to “reconnect” communities cut off in the past by transportation infrastructure, leaving such neighborhoods in many cases bereft of direct access to schools, jobs, medical offices, and places of worship.

USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg. Photo by USDOT.

“While the purpose of transportation is to connect, in too many communities, past infrastructure decisions have served instead to divide,” said USDOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg in a statement. “Now [we are] acting to fix that.”

A slew of projects overseen by state departments of transportation were included in this round of RCP grants, USDOT noted:

  • The Colorado Department of Transportation: $2 million for the “Removing the Highway Barrier: Equitably Restoring Colfax and Federal Mobility and Land Use” project;
  • The Connecticut Department of Transportation: $2 million for its Greater Hartford Mobility Study;
  • The District of Columbia Department of Transportation: $2 million for its DC 295/I-295 Corridor Feasibility Study for the Washington, D.C., area;
  • The Delaware Department of Transportation: $2 million for the “Bridging I-95 Concept Study” that involves communities in and around Wilmington, DE;
  • The Hawaii Department of Transportation: More than $19.1 million for the “Connecting Pearl Highlands to Opportunity” project conducted jointly with the County of Honolulu, City of Honolulu, and the Honolulu Department of Transportation;
  • The Louisiana Department of Transportation and Development: $2 million for its “Reconnecting Claiborne” study;
  • The Massachusetts Department of Transportation: More than $335.3 million for the I-90 Allston Multimodal Project;
  • The Maryland Department of Transportation: More than $3.3 million for the “Enhancing Easton” neighborhood access project along the US Route 50 highway;
  • The Maine Department of Transportation: $22.4 million for the “Reconnecting our Villages – Historic Libbytown” project;
  • The Minnesota Department of Transportation: $3.6 million for the “Highway 55 Community Partnership/A Roadway for All” project;
  • The Mississippi Department of Transportation: $9.6 million for the Bienville Boulevard/Scott Pruitt Memorial Highway Multi-Use Path project;
  • The Montana Department of Transportation: $24 million for “Reconnecting East Missoula” project coordinated with Missoula County, the City of Missoula, and the Missoula Metropolitan Planning Organization;
  • The New York State Department of Transportation: More than $180 million for the I-81 Connecting Syracuse project;
  • The Oregon Department of Transportation: $450 million for the I-5 Rose Quarter improvement project;
  • The South Carolina Department of Transportation: More than $10 million for the Dave Lyle Boulevard Pedestrian Bridge project;
  • The Utah Department of Transportation: More than $87 million to fund local street crossings of Interstate 15 in St. George at 400 East and 900 South;
  • The Wisconsin Department of Transportation: $2 million for the “Reimagining the National Avenue Interchange” project.  
Related articles