AUSTIN (KXAN) — The City of Austin is seeking up to $25 million in federal grant funds to help transform an abandoned railroad track in south Austin into a new trail system.
Austin City Council approved Thursday submitting an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant program. City leaders are seeking the funding to support the construction of the Bergstrom Spur Trails to Transit project, a six-mile project planned from Vinson Drive to East Riverside near U.S. Highway 183, per project documents.
Approximately $1.5 billion is available through the RAISE grant to projects “that decrease greenhouse gas emissions, address environmental justice and racial equity, and reduce barriers to opportunity,” per city documents. Individual projects can earn up to $25 million, with the city poised to offer a funding match of $6.25 million if the project is awarded federal dollars.