Funding will work to reunite Manchester and Chateau neighborhoods, split by PA-65

(WASHINGTON, D.C.) – U.S. Representative Summer Lee (D-PA-12) and U.S. Senator Bob Casey (D-PA) and announced $1.4 million in federal funding for the City of Pittsburgh and Manchester Citizens Corporation from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Reconnecting Communities Pilot grant program, created by the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA). The project will study ways to reunite Manchester and Chateau while keeping those who travel on PA-65 safe and connected. Construction of Route 65 severed these neighborhoods, inflicting lasting detrimental effects on the community.

Congresswoman Summer Lee said, “Black, brown and working class communities in Pittsburgh have suffered from the legacy of redlining and disinvestment that’s left folks in our North side neighborhood isolated for far too long. I was sent to Congress to right wrongs like this one because our economic future depends on us building a Pittsburgh that’s livable, safe, and accessible for ALL people. I’m proud to partner with Senator Casey to deliver Infrastructure investments that will make life easier for working families and small businesses here in Western PA.”

“The North Side is a vibrant and historic section of Pittsburgh, but neighborhoods like Manchester have suffered from harmful infrastructure decisions that divided and isolated the community,” Senator Casey said. “I was proud to advocate for this project to receive funding from the infrastructure law, which will bring Pittsburgh one step closer to righting historical wrongs and connecting residents to more economic opportunities.”

The IIJA established the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) grant program, the first-ever federal program dedicated to reconnecting communities that were previously cut off from economic opportunities by transportation infrastructure. Funding supports planning and capital construction grants to restore community connectivity through the removal, retrofit, mitigation, or replacement of eligible transportation infrastructure facilities. Senator Casey supported the City of Pittsburgh and Manchester Citizens Corporation’s joint application for this funding.

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