WASHINGTON, DC - MAY 16: Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg (C) speaks during a news conference marking six months since the signing of the bipartisan infrastructure bill with Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Michael Regan (L) and National Economic Council Director Brian Deese in the Brady Press Briefing Room at the White House on May 16, 2022 in Washington, DC. The Biden Administration cabinet members highlighted what they considered the successes of the infrastructure law. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Today the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) announced the openin of the application process for capital grant funding for projects related to transportation infrastructure improvements. The investment is being made available from a $1 billion set aside in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Plan. This is a first of its kind program in U.S. history
A vestiture of repairing dicrimination that historically caused adversity for the communities of people of color and impoverished areas, the program hopes to unify neighborhoods and connect everyone, particularly in Black and Brown comunities. Cities such as DC, New York and Tulsa, experienced racsim in roadeays. They were cut off from having better access to jobs and a higher qaulity of life based on proximity to the right roads, highways and railways in the past and the impact remains visible, a problem that has been highly analyzed Sec. of Transportation Pete Buttigieg said. Inequity in spacial usage made the separate but equal practices of the Civil Rights era difficult to carry out. This effort is viewed by its champions as a way to bring about "spacial justice."
On Wednesday, before heading to Alabama to launch the program, Sec. of Transportation Buttigieg spoke to the press about its goals. He was joined by Stephanie Pollack, Dr. Michael McAfee CEO of Policy Link and Christopher Coats who were integral in settin up the program. He said unlike mistakes in policies from the past this is not something that can be as easily reversed. In the competitive applicatin process, stakeholders that have already engaged in the work of transportation improvements and planning are encouraged to submit a range of ways to innovate. Stakeholders webinars will be held to discuss how the program works and waht they are looking for.
"Our focus isn't about assigning blame. It is not about getting caught up in the guilt or regret. It is about mending what has been broken, especially when the damage was done through tax-payer dollars," he offered with emphasis.
A Twitter user gave Buttigieg advance praise for doin somethin about this long neglected issues, typing that Repiblican Kristen Sinema had gut back funds for road construction.
“Never in our history, have we ever invested in true spatial justice,” said McAfee, president in the press conference. “The United States has never prioritized equity in the physical foundation of the nation: its infrastructure, buildings, roads and bridges … This is our moment to ensure policies, practices and investments, govern for racial equity, repair the harm of past policies, and promote transformative outcomes.”
Roads and highways have been used as metaphorical symbols for how far one can go in life. The Secretary says he a has a forward-leaning vision of how the programs will work and sees it as a way of opening up a variety of opportunites for people in the ares with the greatest need.
The money will be spread out over various types of projects -- not just highways the part
The formal announcement from the DOT in full follows:
The pilot program created by the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will help reconnect
people to economic opportunities and essential services in their communities
BIRMINGHAM, AL – Today, U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and
other senior leaders from USDOT will join U.S. Rep. Terri Sewell, Birmingham Mayor Randall
Woodfin, and other local leaders in Birmingham, Alabama, to announce the Department is now accepting applications for the first-of-its-kind Reconnecting Communities pilot program.
Birmingham will soon launch Birmingham Xpress, new bus rapid transit service that will
connect Alabamans in 25 communities to jobs, schools, and healthcare.
Created in the President’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, funding from the $1 billion pilot
program will help reconnect communities that were previously cut off from economic
opportunities by transportation infrastructure. Reconnecting a community could mean adapting existing infrastructure– such as building a pedestrian walkway over or under an existing highway– to better connect neighborhoods to opportunities or better means of access such as crosswalks and redesigned intersections.
"Transportation can connect us to jobs, services, and loved ones, but we‘ve also seen countless cases around the country where a piece of infrastructure cuts off a neighborhood or a community because of how it was built," said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. "Using funds from President Biden's Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we are proud to announce the launch of Reconnecting Communities: the first-ever dedicated federal initiative to unify neighborhoods living with the impacts of past infrastructure choices that divided them."
USDOT will also be launching the Thriving Communities Initiative to provide technical
assistance and hands-on planning support for transformative infrastructure projects that serve
disadvantaged communities. This includes a new DOT Navigator to provide better access to
technical assistance programs across the Department, and a new program to provide capacity
building support to communities. U.S. Housing and Urban Development is providing complementary technical assistance as part of the Thriving Communities program to improve the coordination of housing and transportation planning to advance residents’ access to opportunity and increase housing supply. USDOT and HUD plan to issue their notices of funding availability in the Fall to select capacity builders. While the Reconnecting Communities pilot program is the first-ever Federal program to have funding dedicated solely to reconnection efforts, other USDOT discretionary grant programs, including the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program, have funded projects such as interstate capping in Atlanta, a greenway project in St. Louis, and a Bus Rapid Transit line in Baltimore – all examples of connecting neighborhoods with job opportunities in a city where transportation infrastructure previously acted as a barrier.
States are also encouraged to use their formula funds to help finance reconnection projects. The Reconnecting Communities pilot program may help support planning efforts that advance projects to a phase where they are more competitive for these other sources of capital funding.
Eligible applicants for the Reconnecting Communities competitive grant pilot program include:
• States • Local and Tribal governments • Metropolitan planning organizations • Nonprofit organizations • Other transportation facility owners Preference will be given to applications from economically disadvantaged communities, especially those with projects that are focused on equity and environmental justice, have strong community engagement and stewardship, and a commitment to shared prosperity and equitable development. Of the $195 million available from the grant program this year, $50 million is dedicated to planning activities for communities that may be earlier in the process. The Reconnecting Communities Notice of Funding Opportunity announced today can be found here. Information on Reconnecting Communities technical assistance and other resources can be found here. Applications are due October 13, 2022. Awards are expected to be announced in early 2023. The new DOT Navigator can be accessed here and information on the Thriving Communities program can be found here. The Department will convene a series of stakeholder webinars to help potential applicants learn about the RCP grant program and what they need to know to prepare an application. The first one will be held Thursday, July 14 at 12 pm EST.