The U.S. Department of Transportation recently awarded 132 projects nationwide $3.33 billion in Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Neighborhood Access and Equity grants.
The department awarded 8 regional planning grants, 52 capital construction grants and 72 planning grants.
The Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program, part of President Joe Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, funds projects that reconnect communities cut off by past transportation infrastructure projects.
The department prioritized applications from disadvantaged communities that would catalyze shared prosperity project development and job creation and demonstrated strong community engagement and stewardship to advance equity and environmental justice.
“While the purpose of transportation is to connect, in too many communities past infrastructure decisions have served instead to divide,” U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. “Now the Biden-Harris administration is acting to fix that. 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.”
The goal of the Justice40 Initiative is to ensure 40 percent of certain federal investments is awarded to disadvantaged communities that were marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution.
Projects include reconnecting Atlanta’s Southside communities, and a 15-block redesign of Birmingham, Alabama’s, Black Main Street.