Tucson awarded $900,000 community grant

TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) - Tucson will receive nearly a million dollars from the Biden Administration.

Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced a $900,000 grant that will go to the Atravessando Comunidade: Tucson’s Greenway and Bike/Ped Bridge Project in Tucson.

The grant is part of the Reconnecting Communities Program established by President Biden’s Inflation Reduction Act and is one of 45 projects receiving $185 million in awards.

“Transportation should connect, not divide, people and communities,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “We are proud to announce the first grantees of our Reconnecting Communities Program, which will unite neighborhoods, ensure the future is better than the past, and provide Americans with better access to jobs, health care, groceries and other essentials.”

The goal of the program is to provide technical assistance and funding for planning and construction projects that aim to connect neighborhoods.

The Department of Transportation says the money from this award will help the City of Tucson plan and design a new bicycle and pedestrian bridge over I-19 to Nebraska Street.

“The Atravesando Comunidades grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation will reconnect our south side communities to services and economic opportunity,” said Tucson Mayor Regina Romero. “Thank you Congressman Grijalva for advocating for the Nebraska Road bicycle and pedestrian bridge. Projects like these are helping us address historical disinvestment. Today we are celebrating our efforts to bring more federal dollars home to Tucson.”

“Under Mayor Romero’s leadership, Tucson has created and invested in inclusive and sustainable transportation and infrastructure solutions,” said Rep. Grijalva. “I’m proud to support this project and advocate for federal funding that will advance racial equity and support underserved communities like those in southern Tucson.”

The Inflation Reduction Act also established a new, $3 billion program called the Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program which can also fund projects that reconnect communities.

The Department of Transportation expects to launch this program later this Spring.