Dear John,

This week, I welcomed U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg, Waterbury Mayor Neil O’Leary, Matt Hart of Capitol Region Council of Government, and Thomas Hyde of Naugatuck Valley Regional Development Corporation to celebrate nearly $40 million in RAISE Grant funding to support projects in Connecticut’s Fifth District. 

The Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program helps urban and rural communities move forward on projects that modernize roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, and intermodal transportation. These investments make our transportation systems safer, more accessible, more affordable and more sustainable. Of the 166 projects selected, a total of three were selected from Connecticut, two of which are in Connecticut’s Fifth Congressional District. Unlike other grant programs, RAISE funding flows directly from the U.S. Department of Transportation to local applicants. 

I advocated directly with the Department on behalf of the two projects in my district:

• City of Waterbury Naugatuck Valley Regional Economic Development Corporation
  • $23.1 million to complete phase II of the Waterbury Naugatuck River Greenway Trail, improvement to Jackson Street Riverfront Park, West Main Street Renovation, and EV charging stations at the Waterbury Train Station.

• Capitol Region Council of Governments 
  • $16.3 million to fund the design and construction of two trails in Plainville and New Britain. The grant will fund the design and construction of two connected trails in Plainville and New Britain. The first will fill the last major gap in the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail (FCHT). The second will connect the FCHT to the CTFastrak trail in New Britain.     

These RAISE grant awards are made possible by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, which will provide the RAISE program with an additional $7.5 billion over five years. 

The Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act, signed into law by President Biden in November 2021, provides a five-year reauthorization of federal surface transportation programs. Additionally, it allocates $100 million to the state of Connecticut for broadband coverage, $3.5 billion for federal-aid highway programs, $445 million over five years to improve water infrastructure, and $39 million to modernize the Northeast Corridor. 

Thank you for taking the time to read this update. To hear more about my work in Congress, subscribe to my newsletter here.

Jahana Hayes

Member of Congress