Boston fights grant cancellation
Boston Sues Federal Government Over Canceled Twenty Million Dollar Street Safety Grant
Anonymous
Boston is suing the Trump administration over its cancellation of a $20 million federal grant for safety, transit, accessibility and traffic-flow improvements on three major streets in Roxbury. The Department of Transportation withdrew the 2022 RAISE grant in September 2025, citing the project’s planned electric-vehicle charging stations, which Boston says accounted for less than 1% of the project’s cost and offered to remove. The city argues the department lacked authority to rescind the funding and that the decision violated federal law and the grant program’s goals, which include sustainable infrastructure and improvements for underserved communities. Mayor Michelle Wu and Rep. Ayanna Pressley say the upgrades are important to residents, commuters and local businesses, and are urging the court to restore the funds.
Key Points
1
The Roxbury Resilient Corridors project covers Melnea Cass Boulevard, Malcolm X Boulevard and Warren Street; the $20 million grant was part of a nearly $34 million project.
2
The three streets rank among the top 3% of Boston streets for concentrations of traffic injuries and fatalities, and the area is classified by the Transportation Department as both a “persistent poverty” area and a “historically disadvantaged community.”
3
In its 2022 grant application, Rep. Ayanna Pressley described the roads as “daily lifelines” that had high crash rates, worse air quality than other Boston neighborhoods, limited shade-tree canopy and unreliable bus service.
4
Boston’s lawsuit also names the Federal Transit Administration, its acting deputy administrator and chief counsel Matthew Cahill, and Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy as defendants.
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