Jacksonville projects receive $25M federal grant

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The Bay Street Innovation Corridor and Urban Core Riverfront Revitalization projects in Jacksonville, Fla., recently received a $25 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

Funding is through the Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) transportation grant program.

“In partnership with the state of Florida, City of Jacksonville, and the Jacksonville Transportation Authority, this grant will pave the way for two important projects to revitalize transportation and commerce in the heart of the city,” Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao said.

The first project is the Urban Core Riverfront Revitalization project that will be carried out by the City of Jacksonville.

The second project, the Bay Street Innovation Corridor, will be carried out by the Jacksonville Transportation Authority.

Both projects are intended to improve the riverside area of downtown by making major improvements to Bay Street, from the Jacksonville Regional Transportation Center at LaVilla in the Downtown Core area to the Sports Complex.

Work includes introducing smart technologies, implementing an autonomous transit network, and highway redevelopment.

A total of 91 BUILD grants were awarded to projects in every state.

For Fiscal Year 2018, the Department of Transportation received 851 eligible applications, nearly double the number of applications from the previous fiscal year.