Louisville awarded $20.5 million in federal RAISE grants to fund ReImagine 9th Street, Broadway All the Way

Mayor Greg Fischer today celebrated news that the city of Louisville is receiving $20.5 million in federal RAISE grants to fund two transformational transportation projects that are integral to the revitalization of west Louisville and the continued growth of the city’s downtown and edge neighborhoods.

Louisville received a $15.5 million implementation grant to fund the design finalization and construction of the ReImagine 9th Street project and a $5 million planning grant to fund design work for Broadway all the Way, which will make that project shovel-ready. Both projects will improve connectivity, mobility, safety and aesthetics, while promoting economic development and quality of place.

“Today is a great day for the city of Louisville! These projects are part of a larger strategy to reinvigorate west Louisville, which is already seeing an unprecedented $1.5 billion in investment, and will have ripple effects across our community. After many years of working to break down the physical and invisible 9th Street divide, we are excited to bring ReImagine 9th Street to life, which will complement the ongoing investments in Beecher Terrace and the broader Russell neighborhood,” the Mayor said. “Broadway All the Way will connect neighborhoods from the Highlands in the east to Shawnee in the west, as well as provide an improved transportation experience for everyone who travels this major corridor.

“The RAISE grants will allow us to continue implementing the strategies and goals described in  MOVE Louisville, the city’s 20-year multimodal plan, which focuses on modernizing our transportation infrastructure, improving connectivity across our city, and better supporting all modes of transit,” he continued. “I want to thank President Joe Biden and U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg for these awards, which will bolster the positive trajectory of west Louisville, downtown and its edge neighborhoods to the east.”

The Mayor also thanked Congressman John Yarmuth, who has been a strong supporter of Louisville’s efforts to invest in its neighborhoods and modernize its transportation system.

Congressman Yarmuth stated, “After years of pushing for this vital funding, I’m thrilled to see these two monumental investments being made in our city. These federal dollars will make Louisville safer, more accessible, and will help bridge some of the historic racial and socioeconomic divides we still work hard to overcome today. This is what happens when people come together to build a more fair, more equitable, and more prosperous future. These are once-in-a-generation investments, so to see Louisville’s name appear twice in the list of nationwide recipients is a sign that good things come to those as passionate and hard-working as our people are. This is a great day for our city.”

In addition to providing a letter of support for both RAISE grant applications, Gov. Andy Beshear and State Legislature allocated $500,000 to each of these projects through the State Highway Fund.

Metro Council helped the city attract these grants by dedicating local matching funds to both ReImagine 9th Street and Broadway All the Way. Council President David James, D-6, also was instrumental in providing funding for conversion of Chestnut Street and Muhammad Ali Boulevard from one-way to two-way streets, a component of the ReImagine 9th Street plan.

“I’m so very excited that Louisville Metro has received this Grant to change Broadway and 9th Street.  This will make our streets safer and more usable for our citizens. I’m honored to have been a part of being able to make this happen,” President James said.

The $24.6 million ReImagine 9th Street plan will transform 9th Street from a six-lane thoroughfare into a complete street with a large pedestrian area, protected bicycle facilities, dedicated bus lanes, green infrastructure, traffic-calming measures and smart signals. Louisville Metro Government worked with internationally renowned designers Gehl Associates and community residents to complete the draft plan.

Work to finalize the designs and construction documents for ReImagine 9th Street will begin in 2023, with opportunities for further community engagement. Construction is expected to begin in the second half of 2025, with additional funding coming from local and state sources.

In 2019, Metro Government and Gresham Smith, a local engineering, landscape architecture and design practice, began work on Broadway All the Way, which established a vision for the Broadway corridor with an emphasis on premium transit. Since then, they have been gathering feedback from people traveling the corridor, as well as businesses and residents, about improvements they’d like to see along Broadway.

Broadway All the Way will look at implementing Bus Rapid Transit similar to Dixie Highway, and enhancing pedestrian and bus shelters, as well as bike facilities. With the RAISE grant, the city and Gresham Smith will continue planning and design work and host public engagement opportunities to gather more feedback. By the end of 2025, they will complete a draft plan for Broadway All the Way and begin applying for funding for the implementation and construction of the plan.

The grant applications were developed by Louisville Forward and Public Works in conjunction with HDR, Gresham Smith, Gehl Associates, AECOM, WSP and Accelerator for America. Grant narratives can be viewed at https://louisvilleky.gov/government/advanced-planning-and-sustainabilit….

The U.S. Department of Transportation awarded more than $2.2 billion from the Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) program to help urban and rural communities move forward on projects that modernize roads, bridges, transit, rail, ports, and intermodal transportation and make our transportation systems safer, more accessible, more affordable, and more sustainable. The RAISE program is one of several ways communities can secure funding for projects under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law’s competitive grant programs.