U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg announced that the Biden-Harris Administration has awarded more than $21.6 million to pay for street infrastructure in Birmingham’s Civil Rights District.

Today’s awardees in Alabama include:

• $21,681,306 for the Birmingham Civil Rights Crossroads: Reconnecting Historic Neighborhoods Through Active Mobility project to redevelop approximately 2.5-miles of road with a complete streets approach, including a two-way cycle track, improved ADA access, sidewalks and other universal design elements. These changes will help improve safety and visibility for pedestrians and cyclists in the historic Civil Rights District.
• $1,600,000 for the Jefferson Street Railroad Bridge Replacement in Courtland, in Lawrence County, in the northwest part of the state. These funds will be used to construct a new bridge that includes additional pedestrian and bike lanes. Once completed, the project will have a positive impact on the local community and economy through the replacement of a structurally deficient bridge that will meet modern safety standards and be capable of handling heavy traffic such as public buses and freight vehicles.

That’s a total of $23,281,306 from the RAISE discretionary grant program allocated to the two different infrastructure projects in Alabama.

The RAISE grant program supports communities of all sizes, with half of the fiscal year 2023 funding going to rural areas and the other half to urban areas.

“Using the funds in President Biden’s infrastructure law, we are helping communities in every state across the country realize their visions for new infrastructure projects,” said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “This round of RAISE grants is helping create a new generation of good-paying jobs in rural and urban communities alike, with projects whose benefits will include improving safety, fighting climate change, advancing equity, strengthening our supply chain, and more.”

This year’s awarded projects include bridge replacements and road projects to improve conditions for drivers, cyclists, and pedestrians and build and repair infrastructure.

Seventy percent of the grants are going to projects in regions defined as an Area of Persistent Poverty or a Historically Disadvantaged Community.

Demand for RAISE funding was higher than available funds. This year, DOT received $15 billion in requests for the $2.26 billion available.

The full list of projects can be viewed here.