Washington, D.C. — U.S. Senator Kristen Kirsten Gillibrand today announced the City of Syracuse will receive $10 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to complete Phases II and III of Syracuse Connective Corridor, a project to connect downtown Syracuse and University Hill, two burgeoning areas of economic and cultural growth.
Senator Gillibrand personally spoke with U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood last week in support of the funding and wrote a letter in October to advocate for the project that has strong potential to help grow the local economy, attract new businesses and bring new jobs to Syracuse.
“This is one of the best investments we can make for Syracuse,” Senator Gillibrand said. “I worked closely with Secretary LaHood to make sure he knew just how much of an impact this investment will make here. When we connect these two vital parts of Syracuse, we can lay the groundwork for economic growth, bring new jobs and new vitality for Syracuse to thrive.”
Mayor Stephanie Miner said, “I want to thank our federal partners for helping us transform Syracuse from the Creekwalk to the Hill district. The Connective Corridor is more than a traditional transportation project. The corridor integrates student population into the everyday life of downtown while it also upgrades the physical infrastructure for all property owners along a route that now welcomes bikers and pedestrians as well as mass transit passengers.”
“This U.S. Department of Transportation grant represents renewed recognition of the critical role that the Connective Corridor can play both in Syracuse’s revitalization and as a model for older industrial cities,” says S.U. Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor. “The Corridor builds on successful strategies not only to connect neighborhoods, but to catalyze cultural and economic rejuvenation. The cross-sector collaboration at this project’s core absolutely wouldn’t be possible without the vision and strong support of Senator Gillibrand.”
The funding for this grant will go towards the Syracuse Connective Corridor which will improve transportation infrastructure and construct new multimodal facilities that will provide creative design solutions that will improve operation and safety for the area by linking the two areas. Additionally, this project will provide cost-effective, sustainable improvements for the corridor. The funding that will be used to complete the corridor project come from the Tiger III Grant program through the DOT which funds innovative transportation projects that will create jobs and have a significant impact on the nation, region, or metropolitan area.
Senator Gillibrand’s complete letter to Secretary Ray LaHood is attached.