PITTSBURGH — U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D-Pennsylvania), U.S. Rep. Mike Doyle (D-Pennsylvania-14), Allegheny County Executive Rich Fitzgerald and Pittsburgh Mayor William Peduto announced Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Transportation had awarded the Sports & Exhibition Authority $19 million to assist in the redevelopment of the Pittsburgh’s Lower Hill District. Federal, state, county and local leaders have been working together for several years to secure federal funding for the project, according to a press release from officials.
The $19 million was awarded through the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recover Discretionary Grant program. TIGER Grants can be used for road, rail, transit or port projects that will achieve national objectives. Over the last seven years, the federal government has provided more than $4.5 billion in TIGER grants. The U.S. Department of Transportation will announce the eighth round of TIGER Grant awards this week.
The city plans to build a dome-like structure over what officials call the "I-579 cap." It will be a three-acre open space with routes for walking and biking between the Hill District and downtown. There will also be connections to the T. City officials said they want to eliminate the physical barriers between the two neighborhoods.
The SEA requested $19 million in TIGER Grant funding earlier this year. The city of Pittsburgh and its partners also received $1.5 million in TIGER Grant funding in 2014 to assist in the planning phase of the project.
The funding will be used to reestablish the connection between the Lower Hill District and downtown Pittsburgh that was destroyed decades ago when Interstate 579 and the Civic Arena were built. Officials said that by providing improved access between these neighborhoods and to the transit system Downtown, the I-579 Cap Urban Connector will promote public and private development in the Hill District and help create new jobs for Hill District residents.
Casey, Doyle, Fitzgerald and Peduto all weighed in on the impact that the grant will have on the city:
The project is expected to start next year and will take two years to complete.
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