$39.56 million granted for locally-led projects that reconnect communities in Wisconsin

Washington – Today, President Biden and U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced $39,560,000 for the state of Wisconsin for projects through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Neighborhood Access and Equity discretionary grant programs as part of President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda. The funding is aimed at reconnecting communities that were cut off by transportation infrastructure decades ago, leaving entire neighborhoods without direct access to opportunity, like schools, jobs, medical offices, and places of worship.

The Biden-Harris Administration is taking historic action to deliver for communities that have been left behind for too long. Thanks to additional funding from the Inflation Reduction Act, this investment is 18 times larger than the investments from the previous year’s standalone Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program.  Both programs are part of the President’s Justice40 Initiative.

“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 U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “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 Department has created a virtual story that spotlights communities’ stories, the historic context for the program, and the future it seeks through funding the reconnection of communities here.

In this round of funding for the Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Neighborhood Access and Equity program, Wisconsin received three grants. Awarded projects include:

• $36,560,000 for Connecting North to South: A Complete 6th Street in Milwaukee – Connecting North to South: A Complete 6th Street reconnects several of Milwaukee’s historic and diverse communities that have suffered decades of negative impacts from highway construction. The Project transforms 2.6 miles (North Avenue to National Avenue) of 6th Street, an important corridor connecting predominantly Black communities on the northside through the Downtown economic core south to the regional intermodal station and the gateway of Milwaukee’s Hispanic communities on the southside. The construction of I-94/I-43 in the 1960’s not only tore through the heart of many of Milwaukee’s diverse communities, but also spurred the expansion of adjacent streets to accommodate access ramps and their associated traffic. A transformed 6th Street will include safe, dedicated infrastructure for walking, biking, and transit as well as green infrastructure that will provide much needed tree canopy and green space while easing the load on the City’s combined sewer system.
• $2,000,000 for Reimagining the National Avenue Interchange in Milwaukee – The project focuses on the disadvantaged Walker’s Point neighborhood in the City of Milwaukee that is divided by the I-94/43 National Avenue Interchange. The project will identify and evaluate alternatives to reconnect the neighborhoods and address safety and mobility concerns. The Interchange’s configuration and lack of connectivity substantially decreases the quality of life for the disadvantaged people living in western Walker’s Point forced to contend with this unsafe Interchange daily. Through robust public engagement and technical analysis, the project will identify community concerns, create a collective vision, develop a range of improvement alternatives, and conduct a feasibility study that will investigate traffic, ramp geometries, street connections, shared use paths, and other potential improvements to reimagine the National Avenue interchange.
• $1,000,000 for Perry Street Overpass in Madison – The Perry Street Overpass project is a key component of the City’s strategy to revitalize South Madison’s neighborhoods and address longstanding mobility needs. The proposed project will reconnect Perry Street over the Beltline Highway (US Highways 12/14/18/151), which was split during construction almost 70 years ago. Today, fencing and the Beltline Highway cut Perry Street in half. The Perry Street Overpass will eliminate the need for circuitous and dangerous north-south routes around the Beltline Highway. By extending Perry Street, this planning project would introduce a new crossing to overcome the Beltline Highway “dividing facility,” providing vehicles, buses, pedestrians, and cyclists with easier access to employment and other opportunities on the south side of the highway. The project will benefit the Burr Oaks and Bram’s Addition neighborhoods.

The full list of Reconnecting Communities Pilot and Neighborhood Access and Equity awards can be viewed here.

These programs are part of President Biden’s Justice40 Initiative, which set the goal that 40 percent of the overall benefits of certain Federal investments flow to disadvantaged communities that are marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution. The Department prioritized applications from disadvantaged communities that demonstrated strong community engagement and stewardship to advance equity and environmental justice, and would catalyze shared prosperity project development and job creation. 

Last year, in the inaugural round of the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program, the Biden-Harris administration awarded grants for transformative, community-led solutions, including capping interstates with parks, filling in sunken highways to reclaim the land for housing, and converting inhospitable transportation facilities to tree-lined Complete Streets. These projects will help revitalize communities, provide access to jobs and opportunity, and reduce pollution.  

The Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program (RCP) in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law has been combined with the newly-established Neighborhood Access and Equity discretionary grant program in the Inflation Reduction Act.

This joint application makes it more efficient and accessible than ever for project sponsors to apply for the historic levels of infrastructure funding made available by the Biden-Harris administration’s Investing in America agenda. While Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods grants can come from either program, they share important key characteristics including prioritizing disadvantaged communities — including rural, Tribal and urban communities — and improving access to daily needs and basic services. 

The Reconnecting Communities and Neighborhoods program is an important component of the Department’s commitment to equity and the Biden-Harris administration’s commitment to supporting communities marginalized by underinvestment and overburdened by pollution, and strengthening equitable development. Restoring communities like those awarded grants today helps give everyone an equal chance to get ahead and opportunity to accessing jobs and essential services such as healthcare services, grocery stores, and places of worship. To find out more about what the Department is doing to support equity, see the recently updatedEquity Action Plan, which can be viewed here.