DALLAS — White House officials have announced a multi-billion-dollar project that's meant to help disadvantaged communities. That project includes exactly $80 million for North Texas.
According to a news release, a total of $3.3 billion dollars are going to communities in 41 states and Washington, DC. The goal is to reconnect over 130 communities that were previously cut off by transportation infrastructure.
North Texas' cut of the money is for Bridging Highway Divides for DFW Communities. The project will build pedestrian "caps" for four highways in the area.
Though it's not clear which highways will get those caps, but White House officials said those highways have led to historical landmarks being removed and greater difficulty for some communities to access resources.
"Bridging Highway Divides for DFW will result in a collective effort that will reknit communities and reverse the harm that past transportation choices have had on disadvantaged neighborhoods and nonmotorized access," officials said in the news release. "North Texas highways in many cases were used to intentionally cut off access to daily needs and project will address these historic inequities."
The North Texas grant is one of six that are coming to Texas. Other grants include
- $43,438,830 to create climate-resilient streets in two Houston neighborhoods
- $2,960,000 for pedestrian mobility around a San Antonio highway
- $105,200,000 for creating public spaces around an Austin highway to reconnect its Mexican American community
- $2,000,000 for transportation needs in El Paso
- $1,200,000 for reconnecting communities along a tollway in Alief, a suburb in the Houston area.