NBC12, HENRY GRAFF

Pounding the pavement in Richmond, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Pete Buttigieg went on a walking tour to learn about the city’s historic Jackson Ward.

“You can feel that sense of what we can actually be doing with these infrastructure dollars. Sometimes in Washington, they feel like numbers on a page, but when you come here and literally see the physical work that is getting done, that just puts a lot of propulsion into me and my team to keep this work going,” said Pete Buttigieg, U.S. Transportation Secretary.

He wasn’t alone as Virginia Governor Ralph Northam and U.S. Senator Tim Kaine joined, along with several others.

“When you ride down the highway and paying attention to the roads, the highway, you don’t really see how the neighborhoods have been affected,” said Governor Ralph Northam, (D) Virginia.

Secretary Buttigieg heard about efforts to revitalize Jackson Ward, established 150 years ago as a center for Black commerce and culture before being disconnected by a turnpike and later, I-95.

“The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will be transformative for communities like Jackson Ward that have been cut off from previous infrastructure investments and will help us begin to right these historical wrongs,” said Rep. Donald McEachin, (D) 4th District.

Federal funds will help reconnect the neighborhood with other parts of the city.

“With this monumental legislation, I know that our next generation will be stronger. I know that thousands of Virginians will benefit from good-paying family-sustaining jobs,” said Rep. Abigail Spanberger, (D) 7th District.

In Henrico, the secretary toured a construction site for a road extension that, when completed, will connect Virginia Center Commons to GreenCity and the new Fall Line Trail.

Overall, the state will see at least $7.7 billion to repair and replace roads and bridges and $1.2 billion to improve public transportation.

“Frankly, every administration, every president for about as long as I’ve been alive has been seeking to do that, promising to do that, hoping to do that, and this time it actually happened,” said Sec. Buttigieg.