Reconnecting Communities Act

In addition to displacement and public health impacts, highway expansions can also make communities less resilient to flooding and other climate-related disasters.

April 25, 2024 - Transportation for America

Community advocates say the city’s plan may not do enough to reverse the negative impacts of a major expressway.

April 19, 2024 - Streetsblog Chicago

States and cities received over $3 billion in grant funding aimed at redressing the damage caused by freeways.

March 14, 2024 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

A local coalition is collecting data that proves the harmful impacts of the Claiborne Expressway on the surrounding community.

December 22, 2023 - NPR

With a major freeway expansion project looming, the Texas capital is seeking federal funding to build several freeway ‘decks’ downtown.

September 27, 2023 - Austin American-Statesman

Data shows cities lose millions in potential property taxes when highways displace homes and businesses.

August 17, 2023 - Bloomberg CityLab

Two new proposals for replacing the freeway with at-grade segments offer new visions for the future of downtown Minneapolis.

August 11, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

Residents of a historic Black South Carolina town are being displaced by a road widening project.

July 28, 2023 - The Guardian

Far from kickstarting a transformative change in transportation policy, the 2021 bipartisan infrastructure law continues to fund traditional road-building projects.

June 9, 2023 - Climatewire

The program, aimed at supporting highway removals and other projects that work to reverse the impacts of freeway construction, is light on accountability and performance measures, according to a new report.

June 2, 2023 - Smart Cities Dive

The Biden administration has pledged to correct the damage imposed on communities by highways and infrastructure, but many projects are only committing to minor improvements, not transformative changes.

May 26, 2023 - The New York Times

Thanks to decades of activism and newly available federal funding, state and local governments are starting to understand the negative impacts of highway construction and working to reverse the effects on cities around the nation.

April 13, 2023 - Congress For New Urbanism

The city has been working to raise $200 million to create a 5.5 acre park spanning a portion of Interstate 670.

April 13, 2023 - KCUR

Lessons from community activists around the country provide insight into how ‘freeway fighters’ can leverage recent momentum against road expansions to have more impact in 2023.

March 7, 2023 - Streetsblog USA

A proposed land bridge that would reconnect the Rondo neighborhood is one of the dozens of projects to be awarded a Reconnecting Communities grant this week.

March 2, 2023 - MinnPost

The first $185 million in grants were awarded to projects that aim to improve mobility and reconnect neighborhoods isolated by highways and other infrastructure projects.

February 28, 2023 - U.S. Department Of Transportation

Two Virginia cities were awarded federal funding aimed at improving connections between neighborhoods cut apart by freeway construction.

February 24, 2023 - WRIC

The federal funding will help move forward planning for an ambitious proposal to cap a downtown Atlanta freeway with a 25-acre park.

January 19, 2023 - Urbanize Atlanta

The federal Reconnecting Communities program is aimed at supporting highway removal and reversing the damage caused by rampant freeway construction, but some watered down proposals from state agencies could fund road expansion instead.

December 16, 2022 - Route Fifty

Applications to the program reveal a pattern of state agencies requesting funds for projects that perpetuate car-centric development with only nominal equity components.

November 6, 2022 - Streetsblog USA