U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg and Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego joined a host of community members and elected officials on Thursday at the Rio Salado Audubon Center to announce that the City of Phoenix is the recipient of a $25 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant. City staff submitted an application for the grant earlier this year.
WATCH: Rio Salado Bike/Ped Bridge RAISE Grant News Conference
Phoenix will use the discretionary federal funding to construct the long-proposed Rio Salado Bike and Pedestrian Bridge, that will cross the river bed in alignment with 3rd Street and create impactful connectivity between south Phoenix and the city’s downtown region.
When completed, the bridge will provide residents without a motor vehicle, or who prefer not to drive on every trip, with a safe option to cross the Rio Salado and gain improved access to jobs, schools, services and other opportunities. The bridge also will offer a convenient connection to the currently under construction South Central Light Rail Extension, and provide residents with increased recreational and exercise options with its proximity to the trails within the Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Area.
In addition to the construction of the bridge, the project will include solar lighting upgrades along the existing Rio Salado pathway from Central Avenue to 40th Street.
Updates about the project and information regarding future community feedback opportunities will be available on the 3rd Street Rio Salado Projects webpage.
Congress dedicated $2.2 billion in fiscal year 2022 RAISE grants to fund projects like this one that have a significant local or regional transportation impact. RAISE funding is a result of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law that was passed by Congress in November 2021.
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