Rep. Chu Celebrates $2 Million Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Grant for the City of Pasadena

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Recently, the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) announced it was awarding a $2 million grant to the City of Pasadena to re-envision the land use and transportation of the State Route (SR) 710 Northern Stub (the "710 stub"), a State freeway facility that has been unfinished since the late 1960s, when construction displaced thousands of low-income residents and residents of color and separated a residential community from a vibrant business district.

This DOT grant is from the Reconnecting Communities Pilot Program created by the bipartisan Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) that Congress passed and President Biden signed into law on November 15, 2021. Rep. Judy Chu (CA-28) voted in favor of the IIJA.

"I am extremely proud to have voted for the IIJA and supported the City of Pasadena's subsequent application to the Department of Transportation for a grant to reimagine the 710 stub," said Rep. Chu. "This funding for infrastructure and transportation improvements in the San Gabriel Valley is a clear example of the ongoing benefits of the IIJA for Southern California. This grant will enable our local community to finally re-envision and reconnect the land in the 710 stub and address the longstanding inequities created by the original unfinished project decades ago."

With this grant, the City of Pasadena, in partnership with the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans), will implement a community-led effort to re-envision the 710 stub, which will include community restoration, increased connectivity, the potential for new housing, local inclusive economic development, and new infrastructure to support affordable and safe transportation options such as bike and walking trails and public transit.