Biden administration launches $1 billion effort to correct racist highway designs of the past

by Shivendra Singh · June 30, 2022

The South Side of Syracuse and Highway I-81

I-81 in Syracuse was responsible for the displacement of hundreds of Black residents when it was built in the 1960s. | Image: Getty Images

The Biden administration announced a $1 billion effort to rectify racist infrastructure decisions of the past, such as highways that were built by bulldozing Black communities.

The program, which the Department of Transportation is calling “Reconnecting Communities,” will in some cases tear down highways that were built with the expressed purpose of creating physical barriers between mostly Black and minority communities. Other projects will focus on building new infrastructure, like greenways to promote cycling and walking or transit programs, like rapid bus lines to reconnect communities to urban cores.

“Our focus isn’t about assigning blame. It isn’t about getting caught up in guilt or regret. It is about fixing a problem,” said…