USDOT Announces $3.3 Billion for Projects that Reconnect Communities

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has announced $3.33 billion for 132 projects through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Neighborhood Access and Equity discretionary grant programs as part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. This funding is aimed at reconnecting communities that have been traditionally cut off by transportation infrastructure, leaving entire neighborhoods without direct access to opportunities such as schools, jobs, medical offices, and places of worship.

With additional funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, this investment is 18 times larger than from the previous year’s standalone Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program. Both programs are part of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set a goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain federal investments flow to communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. USDOT prioritized applications from disadvantaged communities that demonstrated strong community engagement and stewardship and would catalyze shared prosperity project development and job creation.

“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, healthcare, and other essentials.”

USDOT has created a virtual presentation that spotlights communities’ stories, the historic context for the program, and the future it seeks through funding the reconnection of communities. View USDOT’s Equity Action Plan.