U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor (FL-14), Tampa Mayor Jane Castor and Palmetto Beach neighborhood residents announced a $24,467,804 in Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant yesterday from the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) and President Joe Biden’s landmark Infrastructure law. 

“Infrastructure investments are making our streets safer, rebuilding ports and investing in neighborhoods to make them more resilient to flooding,” said Rep. Castor. “The Investing in America agenda lowers costs and creates safer communities across the country. Palmetto Beach neighbors who enjoy a rich history also deserve a neighborhood with safer streets, sidewalks that are ADA-compliant and protection from flooding”

“After decades of underinvestment, the condition of Florida’s infrastructure is now finally getting better instead of worse – and today we proudly announce our support for 148 more projects in communities across the country, including Florida’s 14 District, said U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg. “Through President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law, we’re funding projects across the country to make roads safer, make it easier for people to move around their community, make transportation infrastructure more resilient to extreme weather, and improve supply chains to keep costs down for consumers.”

"Designated in 2012 by the National Park Service as a National Register Historic District, the Palmetto Beach area is home to some of our most vulnerable residents, and for decades, it has struggled with serious transportation deficits and coastal climate vulnerabilities that must be addressed as we work to Transform Tampa's Tomorrow across our city," said Mayor Jane Castor. "Thanks to the extraordinary U.S. Representative Kathy Castor, who secured this highly competitive federal grant, one of the largest we have received in our city's history, we will be able to uplift this richly diverse community by improving accessibility, providing flood relief, and conserving miles and miles of waterfront space for generations of Tampanians to enjoy."

The project focuses on Bermuda Boulevard, a two-lane roadway along McKay Bay. The existing roadway has unmarked street parking and experiences several stressors, including narrow sidewalks, no sidewalks along the Bay, expansive travel lanes which encourage high speeds, and a narrow landscape buffer area between the street and seawall.

Examples of improvements residents can expect will be the reconstruction of the seawall, the addition of seawall trails, resurfacing and narrowing travel lanes, formalizing on-street parking, upgrading sidewalks, adding pedestrian crossings, planting trees, and much more.

In addition to the $24.7 million grant, the City of Tampa will provide an approximate $6.1 million match. City staff are currently working with the U.S. Department of Transportation to finalize the grant agreement. Projects of this scale can take up to 5 years to complete.

Rep. Castor secured a $2,965,800 community project funding (CPF) grant in fiscal year 2023 to stabilize and improve the existing Palmetto Beach/Bermuda Boulevard seawall along McKay Bay to reduce risk to the surrounding extremely low-income community, providing a long-term solution to lessen property damage and potential loss of life from flooding in the area. This funding was from the DHS Pre-Disaster Mitigation account for the design and engineering of seawall improvements. The CPF funding was instrumental to begin stabilizing and improving the seawall, which will provide a long-term solution to reduce risk and eliminate damage to property and potential risk of life in the project area.

Watch the full announcement here.

Photos from the event can be found here.

Read about the four RAISE grants awarded to Florida here.