Philadelphia lawmakers fight to save 'Chinatown Stitch' from Trump cuts

Community leaders and city officials in Philadelphia are rallying to save a proposed freeway cap that would reduce pollution and improve connectivity in the city's Chinatown neighborhood.

According to an article by Daniel Perrin in Inside Climate News, "Today, more than 100,000 vehicles use the expressway (I-676) every day, bringing pollution and noise with them, and the highway’s acres of cement intensify hot temperatures and limit mobility and public space in the neighborhood."

The city then received several federal grants totaling over $2 billion to build the Chinatown Stitch, a freeway capping project that would move some traffic to an at-grade boulevard and build a park over two and a half blocks of Interstate 676. Now, the Trump administration has rescinded all but $8 million in funding, putting the project in jeopardy.

Local leaders are coming together to find new funding for the project. "Earlier this year, the Delaware Valley Regional Planning Commission awarded $10 million in tandem with $2.5 million from the city of Philadelphia to get the project 'shovel-ready.'" But ultimately, the project needs funding from Washington to move forward. Supporters hope lawmakers can still add funds for the Stitch and similar projects to the BUILD America 250 Act, which doesn't currently include funding for freeway capping projects.