While USDOT is a federal agency, the impacts of our projects are felt most profoundly at the local level – on the roadways, transit systems, and other infrastructure that people use in their everyday lives.

Last week, I saw the game-changing potential of transportation firsthand when I joined local leaders in Baltimore to announce $10 million in TIGER funding for the North Avenue Rising project.

_{Under Secretary Anderson at Coppin State University in Baltimore}

This project, led by the Maryland Department of Transportation, will transform a key stretch of North Avenue, one of the city’s major east-west corridors and its second-busiest bus route.

Currently, traveling this corridor is an all-too-familiar experience: a lack of amenities makes it dangerous to walk or ride a bike, while buses are often stopped in traffic. That means it’s difficult for people without reliable access to a car – who make up a significant percentage of surrounding neighborhoods – to connect to the jobs and opportunities on North Avenue.

North Avenue Rising is a much-needed suite of improvements – not just to the roadway, but to transit, bicycle, and pedestrian infrastructure, as well. It’s exactly the type of project that TIGER is designed to support: an innovative, multi-modal re-imagining of this transportation corridor from the ground up.

The new North Avenue will feature dedicated bus lanes, so that taking transit to major destinations like Coppin State University, the Maryland Institute College of Art, and the Station North area will be easier than ever. That’s in addition to enhanced bus stops and improvements surrounding Metro and light rail stations.

Walking and biking the area will be safer and more convenient, too, with upgraded sidewalks, bike lanes, and new bike-share stations all part of the project.

Altogether, this updated infrastructure will not only help people move around better – it will also help them reach opportunities to help them better their lives.

That’s why we chose to announce this TIGER grant at Coppin State, a historic college that has brought quality higher education to generations of students. North Avenue Rising  will improve the way people can get to and from their classes or on-campus jobs – the kinds of connections that build Ladders of Opportunity.

Overall, the new North Avenue will make safety for all road users a priority, while supporting transit and alternative modes of transportation that are the cornerstones of a modern transportation system. All of this in one of the busiest corridors of one of our nation’s most historic cities.

In Baltimore, it’s evident that by thinking creatively about transportation, we can find ways to make what’s old new again.