NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) — Sen. Mark Warner will be in Norfolk Monday to deliver a check for $1.6 million in federal funding.
The funding is set to help “address the social inequity and economic disparities” created by the construction of the I-264 freeway in the 1950s.
Those affected were majority-Black neighborhoods and public housing communities that have been historically cut off from Norfolk’s core downtown area along with nearby opportunities like job centers, educational hubs, transportation resources, and cultural institutions.
This grant comes as part of the reconnecting communities pilot program, which has been described by officials as a “first-of-its-kind” initiative to reconnect communities that have become disadvantaged and burdened by past transportation infrastructure decisions. This is one of 45 projects receiving a share of $185 million in grant awards.
The grant awarded to Norfolk will be used to fix the “spaghetti bowl,” a 14-lane-wide jumble of I-264 ramps and interchanges that cuts a low-income and mostly Black neighborhood off from the core downtown area.
After the check presentation, Sen. Warner will join local elected officials and community leaders for a briefing and a roundtable discussion on the St. Paul’s Project and the City of Norfolk’s redesign efforts. The event is set for 9 a.m. in the second-floor classroom of the Basilica of St. Mary of the Immaculate Conception.
Check with WAVY.com for more updates.