The White House is cancelling millions of dollars in federal funding that was earmarked for improvements to three major roadways in Roxbury, dealing a major blow to efforts by the city of Boston to improve transportation infrastructure in an historically underserved neighborhood.
According to a spokesperson for Mayor Michelle Wu’s office, the U.S. Department of Transportation recently notified local officials that it does not intend to deliver a $20 million grant awarded by the Biden Administration in 2022 for the city’s Roxbury Resilient Corridors project. DOT did not respond to multiple requests for comment on why the funding was taken away.
“The City won these competitive federal grants to replace sidewalks, improve lighting, upgrade bus stops, and plant trees on neighborhood streets,” a city spokesperson told GBH News in an email. “The federal government’s decision to cancel these grants once again ignores the clear intent of Congress and we are reviewing our options.”
The Roxbury project aims to improve transportation options on key portions of Melnea Cass Boulevard, Malcolm X Boulevard and Warren Street with “dedicated bus corridors, including a center running dedicated bus lane, new sidewalks, bus shelters, separated bicycle facilities, intersection improvements, green infrastructure, stormwater improvements, and resiliency features,” according to a 2022 fact sheet.
Whether the project moves forward is unclear, but the loss of funding, first reported by StreetsblogMASS, marks just the latest rescission of federal dollars promised to Massachusetts under the Biden administration. Earlier this year, President Trump cancelled $327 million that the state won in 2023 to reconstruct a portion of the Mass Turnpike. That project includes building a new train and bus hub in Allston and improve pedestrian and bike access to the Charles River.
Despite the cancellation, state officials have said the Mass Turnpike project will move forward in some fashion.
The $20 million grant for the Roxbury project was awarded to Boston as part of a DOT program focused on promoting sustainability and equity in federally-funded transportation projects. The Trump administration re-tooled the program earlier this year and is reportedly pulling funding from proposals that aren’t focused on cars.
The Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT) was also awarded more than $20 million through the same grant program for its Lynnway Multimodal Corridor project, which aims to “transform a historically car-centric roadway into a safer, dynamic connector for pedestrians, bicyclists, transit riders, and drivers.”
Funding for that project appears to be safe, for now. According to a spokesperson for MassDOT, state officials have not yet received any notification of grant cancellations.
