Five Alabama communities will receive $97.3 million in federal transportation grants, the Biden administration announced Wednesday.
The funding is meant to help reconnect communities that were cut off by transportation infrastructure decades ago, according to a U.S. Department of Transportation press release.
“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 in the written statement. “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 money comes from the Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Neighborhood Access and Equity discretionary grant programs, both of which are part of Biden’s Justice40 Initiative.
The funding will service communities in 41 states and Washington, DC by creating access space over highways, adding new transit routes, sidewalks, bridges and bike lanes.
The awarded projects are:
- $352,000 in Phenix City to increase pedestrian access at the Crawford Road/13th Street Corridor.
- $18.4 million for the Dr. Bill Sims Hike-Bike Way on the Singing River Trail in Decatur. It will reconnect Old Town to the city’s riverfront.
- $27.3 million for pedestrian bridge construction in Huntsville. An attempt to mitigate the disparity caused by the Memorial Parkway in 1955, this project consists of the construction of three pedestrian bridges. The funding will provide low-income neighborhoods with safe access to downtown Huntsville, the U.S. DOT said.
- $36.6 million for the Selma to Montgomery trail to reconnect west Montgomery residents.
- $14.5 million for reconnecting 4th Ave North, a 15-block remodel in Birmingham. The project will shift the road from a one-way to a two-way, alleviating the current disconnect from downtown neighborhoods and businesses.
“This is a great day for Decatur,” Decatur Mayor Tab Bowling said in a written statement about his city’s grant. “This funding will connect our riverfront, as well as some of Decatur’s oldest neighborhoods to provide a safe and attractive route for recreation and everyday use.
“We are very pleased that the federal government agreed with our vision and is making this project a reality.”