San Antonio has won a $2.9 million federal grant to study how to better connect the East Side and downtown, long separated by Interstate 37 and a network of rail lines.
The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program, created to repair the negative effects of highways that slashed through marginalized communities when they were built.
The program is part of the 2022 Inflation Reduction Act.
“This study will be the first step to improving walkability, safety and affordable transportation access for the Eastside community and the broader San Antonio region,” U.S. Rep. Henry Cuellar, D-Laredo, a member of the House Appropriations Committee, said in an emailed statement.
Neighborhoods in San Antonio’s historically Black near East Side were separated from the rest of downtown by railroad tracks installed around the turn of the 20th century and the later development of I-37. The federally funded study will look for ways to address the negative impacts of the highway’s development during the 1970s.
I-37 has long cut off East Side neighborhoods from “critical community hubs, educational institutions, employment opportunities and essential services,” according to a statement from Cuellar’s office.
The congressman’s South Texas district includes a swath of East San Antonio.
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This article appears in Mar 6-19, 2024.
