U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood celebrated the ribbon cutting on the $137 million Historic Millwork District multimodal improvement project, a keystone in a strategy to reinvigorate the community by attracting both businesses and residents through expanded transportation options and improved livability.
“Dubuque has overhauled the Historic Millwork District into a livable, walkable community that is attracting businesses and residents alike,” said LaHood in a press release. “This kind of smart transportation planning creates jobs, accommodates all road users – cars, transit, bicycles and pedestrians – and improves public safety.”
The city estimates that due to the design and location, 60 percent of the new residents within the Historic Millwork District will work downtown. The U.S. Department of Transportation provided a $5.6 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant to help the city provide more transportation options and reconstruct the street networks to better serve a broad range of users, including drivers, public transportation, pedestrians, bicyclists, seniors, children and people with disabilities.
“By investing in this revitalization, the city of Dubuque created jobs, provided accessible and varied transportation options for residents and visitors and strengthened the local economy,” said Federal Highway Administrator Victor Mendez. “Dubuque residents will now have a more connected community in which to work and live.”
The Historic Millwork District was redeveloped from old factories and mills, dormant since the early part of the 20th century, into a new mixed-use development incorporating housing, workplaces and entertainment. The TIGER program was designed to promote innovative, multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional transportation projects that provide significant economic and environmental benefits to an entire metropolitan area, region or the nation.