Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx joined Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake recently to break ground at the site of the Re-Connect West Baltimore project.
The project will implement infrastructure improvements near the Fulton Avenue Bridge, including bridge renovations, in an effort to reconnect several neighborhoods cut off from downtown areas after the Route 40 highway was built in the 1970s. The project also aims to increase bicycle and pedestrian paths that will facilitate access to commercial districts and employment centers.
This project is part of USDOT’s Ladders of Opportunity Transportation Pilot program. Baltimore was one of seven cities to be selected to participate.
“This project exemplifies how transportation not only has the ability to take people to opportunity, but also bring opportunity to them,” Foxx said. “By working together with the community and local leadership, we are making major strides toward the city’s long-term vision of a sustainable transportation network in West Baltimore that will provide affordable commuting options for low-income populations.”
USDOT also said transportation infrastructure is an important part of facilitating community revitalization to increase access to economic opportunities. Foxx spoke of the history of transportation projects that had divided neighborhoods and how this project aims to help remedy the past.
