BUFFALO (WBEN) - As the federal government finally came to an agreement on a multi-trillion dollar infrastructure bill, State Senator Sean Ryan is already urging the state DOT to view the Scajaquada and Kensington Expressways as priorities as officials determine how best to spend the money.
New York State will receive $11.6 billion in new highway funding and will be eligible to apply for more than $211 billion in available discretionary grants that require approval from the federal DOT. In addition, $7.5 billion funding is available through the RAISE grant program.
Further, $1 billion will be allocated to projects that reconnect neighborhoods that have been divided due to the construction of highways.
In a letter to the state DOT, Ryan argues that Buffalo should receive a chunk of the federal funding pertaining to reconnecting communities, saying the Scajaquada and the Kensington Expressways divided and isolated several predominantly Black neighborhoods on Buffalo's East Side.
"We have known for years that building highways through Delaware Park and the East Side of Buffalo disrupted communities in a way that has caused lasting harm," said Ryan. "The decision to run the Scajaquada and Kensington expressways right through the heart of communities of color is a perfect example of the kind of situation the federal Reconnecting Communities program has been created to address."
