Van Hollen, Alsobrooks, Mfume Announce $85 Million for First Phase of Highway to Nowhere Redevelopment
Funding follows years-long push from Senator Van Hollen, Congressman Mfume to pass legislation to support federal investment in reconnecting communities
Today, U.S. Senators Chris Van Hollen and Angela Alsobrooks and Congressman Kweisi Mfume (all D-Md.) announced $85,511,803.50 in federal funding for Baltimore City’s first phase of redevelopment of the Highway to Nowhere in West Baltimore. Constructed in the 1970s, the Highway to Nowhere project destroyed homes and businesses and displaced 1,500 residents, leaving communities divided and damaged. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Reconnecting Communities Program, an initiative that Federal Team Maryland fought successfully to include in the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. The provisions in the law were modeled off of legislation authored by Senator Van Hollen and introduced by Senator Van Hollen and then-Senator Ben Cardin, and led in the House by Congressman Mfume. Senator Van Hollen and Congressman Mfume drafted the legislation that created this program specifically with the Highway to Nowhere in mind – to reconnect communities isolated and excluded from economic opportunity by past infrastructure decisions.
The funds announced today will be used to build a cap over one of the blocks of the highway, tear down existing ramps over the highway, and incorporate safety improvements at key locations and intersections to improve mobility and accessibility within the nearby West Baltimore neighborhoods. This investment will remove barriers to mobility, access, and economic development, and reconnect historically disadvantaged communities within West Baltimore and to the City’s Central Business District. Today’s announcement comes after Senator Van Hollen, former Senator Cardin, and Congressman Mfume wrote in September 2024 to U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg in support of Baltimore City’s grant application for the funding, and also follows a $2 million grant that Federal Team Maryland worked to secure for the city in February 2023 to begin planning for the Highway to Nowhere redevelopment.
“For far too long, the Highway to Nowhere has divided West Baltimore and been a barrier to economic growth and opportunity in Baltimore. We fought to create the Reconnecting Communities Program in the infrastructure modernization law to address this injustice and right similar wrongs across the country – and with this major $85 million federal investment, work can begin to reunite West Baltimore, revitalize its neighborhoods, and boost opportunity for residents,” said Senator Van Hollen.
“I’m grateful for the work of my colleagues in our delegation who secured this vital grant money. This is the kind of investment in Baltimore we must continue to champion. These critical funds are an important next step towards a stronger, more unified Baltimore,” said Senator Alsobrooks.
"We are keeping our promise to the city of Baltimore and the neighborhoods that were virtually split in half 50 years ago by the displacement of residents and the disruption of small businesses because of the construction of the terrible ‘Highway to Nowhere.’ This 85 million dollars in new federal funding will go a long way toward removing neighborhood barriers to mobility, improving access and generating economic development. I won't stop until we create more living community spaces, build more housing, and restore both neighborhood parks and new hope for reconnecting the Harlem Park, Poppleton and Rosemont communities," said Congressman Kweisi Mfume.
“For this to be Maryland’s decade, it must be Baltimore’s time,” said Gov. Wes Moore. “I want to thank Team Maryland and the Biden-Harris Administration for partnering with us to right an historic wrong and ensure no one gets left behind. Together, we are investing in communities with the greatest need, tackling inequities, and opening pathways to economic opportunity for generations to come.”
“The Maryland Department of Transportation is proud to be a funding partner in this historic award for Baltimore City,” said Maryland Transportation Secretary Paul J. Wiedefeld. “This award represents a critical first step in bringing communities and neighborhoods that were divided by highway infrastructure back together around a more connected, safe and livable future. The grant funding will enable new economic development opportunities, safer and more livable streets, and new community spaces and housing that are accessible to transit. Thank you to Senator Chris Van Hollen, former Senator Ben Cardin, and Maryland’s entire federal delegation for securing this critical funding.”
“I want to again thank Senator Van Hollen, Senator Cardin, and Congressman Mfume for their persistent leadership to advance transportation projects in Baltimore City. In order to overcome the purposeful, historic disinvestment in infrastructure in Baltimore City, it takes the coordinated efforts of leaders at the local, state, and federal level as well as engagement with our community stakeholders. The previously awarded planning grant allowed us to hear from the residents directly impacted by the Highway to Nowhere and now, with this historic level of funding, we are able to build on that momentum and produce real change for our most impacted residents,” said Baltimore City Mayor Brandon Scott.