Biden to tout new $3.3 billion infrastructure plan in Milwaukee

March 13 (UPI) -- President Joe Biden will announce in Milwaukee on Wednesday $3.3 billion in infrastructure grants that will used across the country to connect communities divided by other projects.

The grants, done in conjunction with the Department of Transportation, will cover more than 130 projects in 41 states, and will attempt to give access to neighborhoods and communities cut off from transportation infrastructure years ago, Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said.

"Highways and rail lines have disproportionately torn through Black and other communities of color and low-income communities, displacing residents and businesses, stifling economic development and cutting communities off from essentials such as groceries, jobs, transportation and healthcare," the White House said in a statement.

While in Milwaukee, Biden will announce $36 million for the 6th Street Complete Streets Project which aims to provide wider sidewalks, safer bike lanes, dedicated bus lanes and other changes to 6th street after it was widened following the construction of I-94/I-43 in the 1960s.

A grant given to Atlanta's BeltLine will help complete a planned loop of a multi-use trail and light rail to reconnect a former railway corridor limited by the growth of Hartsfield Atlanta International Airport and freeways.

The White House said part of the funds will go to reconnect neighborhoods divided by the busy Cross Bronx Expressway and a bridge across Shelby County Road 52 in Pelham, Ala. to eliminate first responders and drivers stalled behind slow and stalled trains.

Other projects will focus on infrastructure in Idaho, Oregon and Pennsylvania.

"While the purpose of transportation is to connect, in too many communities, past infrastructure decisions have served instead to divide," Buttigieg said in a statement. "Today, we are proud to announce an unprecedented $3.3 billion to help 132 communities deliver better infrastructure that reconnects residents to jobs, healthcare and other essentials."

The White House said it is also planning to spend $108 billion in public transit to help low-income communities that are more likely to use public transportation to get to jobs, schooling and medical services.