Youngstown Receives Multimillion-Dollar Federal Grant to Fund Transportation Hub

Ideastream Public Media | By Emma Keating

Published December 11, 2018 at 6:09 PM EST

Youngstown aims to revitalize its downtown area with autonomous busses and green infrastructure.

The city of Youngstown wants to improve its Central Business District with a $10.8 million dollar federal grant.

The Secretary of Transportation announced Tuesday that Youngstown is one of the 91 projects receiving a grant from the Department of Transportation through its new BUILD program.

Youngstown Mayor Tito Brown was the only local official in a group of elected leaders who joined Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao in Washington today for the announcement.

“The town and our businesses have grown and thrived. The quality of life has improved. Our community is healthy, and we’re growing. This grant will not only be an improvement for brick and mortar in our community. It will fight blight, and poverty, and crime, to improve the quality of living for all of the people in Youngstown.”

The BUILD grant will fund a transportation hub that will include bussing, including autonomous shuttles, and bicycling facilities to help people get around without cars. It’s expected to generate $250 million in economic development over the next decade.