US Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg Visits Tulsa To Present Grant

U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg highlighted a major infrastructure project in Green Country during his Tuesday afternoon visit to Tulsa.

Buttigieg and local leaders said the $10 million federal grant will transform the area near Interstate 44 and Highway 75, along with improving the lives of many.

Buttigieg presented the presentation check to Tulsa Mayor GT Bynum and state leaders while commenting on the project plans.

"It's just really moving and inspiring to be able to see physical places where work is going to happen, and most of all, talk to people whose lives are going to be better,” explained Buttigieg in a one-on-one interview with News On 6.

The grant money will reconstruct West 51st Street near Interstate 44 and Highway 75.

This project includes a connection under Highway 75, a new pedestrian bridge over the Tulsa-Sapulpa-Union Railroad and a new connection to the Arkansas River Trail.

Leaders said the goal is to make it safer for people to walk and drive and provide more affordable transportation options for communities in this area.

Linda Fitzgerald, who has lived in the area for years, said it is difficult for first responders to get through the neighborhood.

"The obstacle course cost them maybe three to five minutes,” said Fitzgerald. “In an emergency, you don't have that time to lose.”

The U.S. Department of Transportation said it got about 900 applications for the grant, and Tulsa is one of 166 projects working to improve American lives.

Mayor Bynum said he is proud.

“What this project will do for us is reconnect a neighborhood that was divided by a highway decades ago and connect it into a world-class project that we're doing up and down the Arkansas River, and our community to make it a premiere regional recreational destination,” said Bynum.

Buttigieg’s visit is part of the Biden Administration's "Building a Better America Tour" and includes five other states.

Officials do not yet have a timeline for the project.