U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly (R-PA) recently extended a formal invite to U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao to witness the growth and development underway in Erie, Pa.
“The City of Erie may be home to the nation’s poorest zip code, but it is being transformed through local leadership, investment and targeted public investment,” Rep. Kelly wrote in a May 27 letter sent to the secretary.
The congressman noted that Erie is among other cities in the Rust Belt hit hard by deindustrialization and the migration of manufacturing jobs overseas, resulting in scant optimism for a resurgence of manufacturing or the establishment of new businesses.
However, these circumstances have dramatically changed in the past few years through the creation of a redevelopment plan, which has helped to encourage outside capital investment into once-abandoned neighborhoods, wrote Rep. Kelly.
For example, “the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) recently applied for a BUILD grant that would help to ensure that the necessary improvements to the Bayfront Parkway become a reality,” according to his letter. “Currently, more than $600 million in private investment is occurring in the neighborhoods and business district adjacent to this project.”
Rep. Kelly also submitted a letter of support to the secretary’s office for review and wrote that awarding a BUILD grant to the project connecting Erie’s downtown district to its waterfront “would bring critical infrastructure upgrades to capitalize on the private investment and enhance Erie’s success story.”
“It would be an honor for me to personally showcase to you the transformation that is currently taking place and what further federal infrastructure investment in the city would accomplish,” Rep. Kelly wrote.