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Nonprofit community group ReConnect Rondo is working to reestablish the neighborhood, business and cultural ties on either side of Interstate 94 in St. Paul, which divided the historic Rondo neighborhood during the post World War II interstate building boom. 

Those efforts have included a proposal to build a deck over part of the interstate and restore some of the amenities razed during road construction — and it’s getting $2 million to do so.

Federal authorities on Tuesday announced the planning grant funded by the 2021 infrastructure law. Rondo was one of 45 projects the U.S. Department of Transportation funded as part of its effort “to reconnect communities” torn apart by the building of the federal highway system and other transportation projects.

“The timing was fortuitous,” ReConnect Rondo Executive Director Keith Baker said in statement. “But it is also incredibly validating to see the federal government take responsibility for the lasting harm rendered on communities all these years later.” 

The goal of what’s called the land bridge is to reconnect the vibrant community split in two by the freeway’s construction in the 1950s and 60s, destroying around 700 homes and 300 businesses, according to Baker’s group. 

The bridge would serve as a cap over the part of the road, between Chatsworth Street and Grotto Street, that encompasses what used to be the entire Rondo neighborhood.

to Rondo neighborhood descendants to buy homes, build wealth

As state considers repairs to I-94, Rondo residents look for reconnection

The people left Rondo, but Rondo didn't leave them

In an earlier MPR News interview, Baker said the project would rely on a combination of public and private funds, and could cost more than $450 million to complete.

Previous proposals from other advocacy groups included ripping out the entire stretch of that freeway and replacing it with various modes of travel.

The federal grant adds to $500,000 in state and city planning money to be used for environmental impact analysis, traffic studies and community outreach.

The money will also help coordinate with the Minnesota Department of Transportation's 

a project to make needed repairs to the aging infrastructure, while creating methods to reduce further harms caused by the main east-west artery through the Twin Cities.

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The project is an effort to reestablish St. Paul’s historically Black Rondo neighborhood, which was torn apart to build Interstate 94 in the 1960s.

An aerial view of Interstate 94 in the Twin Cities

Derek Montgomery for MPR News 2022

Renderings of a road project connecting neighborhoods

Courtesy of ReConnect Rondo

St. Paul Central football players performed flips

Feds give $2M to plan 'land bridge' above I-94 in St. Paul

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