LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The U.S. Transportation Department is sending nearly $2 million to the City of Las Vegas through the new Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program.
Nationally, $185 million dollars in grant money has been awarded to 45 different projects to help communities that are burdened by past transportation infrastructure decisions.
Here in the valley, the funding is going to improve the Historic Westside.
The planning award will be used to support improvements along Interstate 15 and Bonanza Road and F Street.
The Historic Westside was divided by the construction of the interstate in 1966, which the Transportation Department said created a barrier to local mobility after wiping out 20 blocks of existing homes and businesses.
They said that has led to disinvestment that continues to this day.
"Transportation should connect, not divide, people and communities," U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said. "We are proud to announce the first grantees of our Reconnecting Communities Program, which will unite neighborhoods, ensure the future is better than the past, and provide Americans with better access to jobs and opportunity, and reduce pollution."
