Lancaster Awarded $800k in Federal Funds for Feasibility Study
Lancaster, Ohio – U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg has announced $1.32 billion in the first round of the FY2025 Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant program for 109 projects across the country, part of the department’s larger announcement today of nearly $5 billion in awards to modernize America’s infrastructure. The City of Lancaster will be awarded $800,000 to be used for a feasibility study for the Eastside Industrial Connector.
The Eastside Industrial Connector is a six-mile corridor that requires the upgrade of three miles of existing streets and three miles of proposed streets that connect all five federal and state routes in the city, improving connectivity to the Fairfield Medical Center, the Historic Downtown District, the Eastside Industrial Park and neighborhoods south of SR-22.
A recent planning study, completed by American StructurePoint and funded by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA) and the Lancaster Port Authority, identified the corridor.
Through the feasibility study phase, the project will look at crash data for the identified area. The project also will assess transportation-related noise and air pollution with the goal of reducing pollution by rerouting the truck route in the future and aligning with the U.S. National Blueprint for Transportation Decarbonization. Additionally, to mitigate transportation-related air pollution and noise pollution in an underserved community, the proposal will investigate clean energy for transportation, transportation-efficient land use and design, drawing on the features of the historic town in the project area.
“This is extremely exciting for our community,” said Rick Szabrak, Fairfield County Economic and Workforce Development Director. “In total, 195 highly rated projects requested almost $2.4 billion for the $1.32 billion available through the first round of FY2025 funding, and we’re only one of two projects in the state to receive this grant funding.”
“The proposed Eastside Industrial Connector will enable the Eastside Industrial Park to be fully built out, creating new jobs and attracting and retaining employers,” said Stephanie Bosco, Economic Development Director for the City of Lancaster and Executive Director for the Lancaster Port Authority. “This study is a critical step in the process of improving connectivity to transportation corridors while removing traffic from our downtown district.”
By reducing commuter travel, lessening traffic congestion, connecting commuters and residents to the downtown area, and encouraging the use of non-motorized vehicles, this project will provide greater accessibility, encourage a healthier lifestyle, and reduce vehicle dependency. The project will also look at a multi-modal approach that considers active transportation choices, public transit, micromobility, and motorized vehicles to remove obstacles and barriers to improve system-wide connectivity.
The competitive and popular RAISE program supports a broad selection of communities and projects of local and regional significance. Funding is split equally between urban and rural areas, and a large percentage of grants, selected in this first round of FY2025, support urban and rural regions defined as historically disadvantaged or areas of persistent poverty.
The eligibility requirements of RAISE allow project sponsors, including state and local governments, counties, federal governments, transit agencies, and port authorities, to pursue multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional projects that are more difficult to fund through other grant and formula programs.
For additional information about the Eastside Industrial Connector, or to view the 2023 study by American StructurePoint, visit https://www.lancasterportauthority.com/transportation-eastside-industrial-connector
