The Allston Multimodal Project is planned to reconfigure transportation infrastructure along a stretch of Interstate 90 in Boston. It would include replacing the Allston Viaduct, which carries part of I-90. The scope also includes building a MBTA station on the Worcester Commuter Rail Line and a bridge for pedestrians and cyclists. Massachusetts Dept. of Transportation (MassDOT) officials say the project would reconnect communities and open up space for redevelopment and a waterfront park in a Boston neighborhood state officials described as an “environmental justice community.”

Lawmakers established the Neighborhood Access and Equity program through 2022’s Inflation Reduction Act. The program was focused on supporting projects improving walkability, safety and affordable transportation access. U.S. Dept. of Transportation officials selected the Allston project for an award in 2024. Funding for the program was to remain available through the end of September 2026.

But on July 18, MassDOT officials said they received verbal notification that the grant had been rescinded, other than $8 million that had already been obligated. 

“The people of Massachusetts deserve better from their federal government,” Healey said.

Now, MassDOT will undergo a review to evaluate how to deliver on the same goals with the available resources, said Monica Tibbits-Nutt, Massachusetts transportation secretary and MassDOT CEO, in a statement. Officials are consulting with an outside engineering firm in the review, she added, but did not name the firm and state officials did not immediately respond to inquiries. 

“We believe in the Allston Multimodal Project and will stay engaged and in communication with the [project] task force, project partners and elected officials as we chart our path forward,” Tibbits-Nutt said. 

Rescinded Funds

The Neighborhood Access and Equity grant program was one of a slate that Republican members of Congress rescinded in their reconciliation package, which President Donald Trump signed into law on July 4. Other targeted programs include those helping fund the use of low-carbon construction materials in federal buildings and transportation projects, programs targeting air pollution, programs promoting environmental justice for historically underserved communities and other Biden-era initiatives that the Trump administration has not prioritized. 

The nonprofit group Transportation for America analyzed government spending data and found only $777 million of the $3.2 billion awarded through the Neighborhood Access and Equity program had been obligated, leaving $2.4 billion to be rescinded.

Other grant awardees contacted by ENR did not immediately respond to inquiries about the status of their funding. Neither did U.S. DOT representatives. But some recipients have called on lawmakers to protect their funding. 

“This funding is vital to Toledo’s future,” Wade Kapszukiewicz, the mayor of Toledo, Ohio, said before the reconciliation bill was passed in a statement about the city’s $28.5-million Neighborhood Access and Equity grant for a traffic safety project. The grant was set to cover 100% of the project costs. “We have done the hard work—planning, design, community input, and now we are at risk of losing a transformative investment that will support jobs, safety and long-term growth.”

MassDOT's grant was one of the largest awards under the Neighborhood Access and Equity program. Other significant grants under the program include $450 million to the Oregon Dept. of Transportation for its I-5 Rose Quarter Improvement Project, $180 million to the New York State Dept. of Transportation for its I-81 Connecting Syracuse Project, $158.9 million for a project to build a highway cap over I-676 in Philadelphia, $157.6 million to cap I-78 and I-85 in Atlanta and build a park on top and $147 million for Jacksonville, Fla.’s Emerald Trail project.