Prince George’s County Receives $25 Million RAISE Grant Award for Massive Investment in Regional Trails
Dear Prince Georgians:
We are excited to announce that the U.S. Department of Transportation (USDOT) has awarded a $25 million Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) grant to Prince George’s County and a regional partnership investing in trails. The grant, which was submitted by my office on behalf of the Prince George’s County Department of Parks & Recreation, Montgomery Parks, and the District Department of Transportation, will drive massive investments in the regional paved trail network across underserved communities in Prince George’s County, Montgomery County, and Washington, D.C.
We are excited to have this new funding to build new trails within Prince George’s County, which includes the Central Avenue Connector Trail (CACT), a key component of our smart growth vision along the Blue Line Corridor. This new trail will bring needed connectivity to help make the surrounding areas more walkable and bikeable. The CACT will begin west of the Capitol Heights Metro Station, running through a combination of Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) right-of-way, neighborhood streets, and existing and planned trail segments before ending at the Downtown Largo Metro Station, with connections to the Addison Road-Seat Pleasant and Morgan Boulevard Metro Stations along the route. The funding from this RAISE grant will cover the second of three phases for the CACT project. We secured funding for the first phase of the project from the State of Maryland during the 2022 Maryland General Assembly Session.
This RAISE grant funding is the latest sign of progress for our Blue Line Corridor vision. Earlier this year, the Maryland Board of Public Works approved a memorandum of understanding between the County and the Maryland Stadium Authority for $400 million in bonding authority to build five signature projects along the Blue Line Corridor. Those projects include an amphitheater, youth sports fieldhouse, civic plaza, library/cultural center, and a market hall.
Two of those projects, the civic plaza and the youth sports fieldhouse, already have requests for proposals out to solicit design teams. In addition, we are continuing construction on the new University of Maryland Capital Region Cancer Center in Largo. We secured the remaining funding needed for the project during the 2023 Maryland General Assembly Session.
This is also the second RAISE grant Prince George’s County has received in the past year. In August 2022, we received $20.5 million from USDOT for infrastructure improvements as part of the New Carrollton Multi-Modal Transportation Station Project. The improvements to the station include a new train hall for the existing MARC, Metrorail, and Amtrak service, incorporating connections to Metrobus, TheBus, and Greyhound bus services and the future Maryland Purple Line light rail. The project will create a vibrant hub that is attractive for new commercial and residential development and will provide better connections between the transit options available at the station.
Overall, the $25 million in RAISE funding will accelerate more than $70 million in regional projects that help build the Central Avenue Connector Trail, Suitland Parkway Trail, and Prince George’s Connector, complete the Anacostia Riverwalk Trail, and rehabilitate Sligo Creek Trail and Northwest Branch Trail. These regional projects will enhance both recreational and economic opportunities in the region, provide non-motorized commuting options to the 53,000 workers that are within half a mile of the trails, and improve trail access for nearly 300,000 residents.
We worked directly with the Capital Trails Coalition on the regional RAISE grant proposal, a collaboration of public and private organizations, agencies, and volunteers with an ambitious vision to connect Virginia, Maryland, and the District of Columbia via a 990-mile trail network. Across the region, the funded projects will include seven miles of new construction, eight miles of trail rehabilitation, and safety improvements at major intersections and at-grade crossings. Moving toward completion of the Capital Trails Coalition network will result in major economic, health, and environmental benefits to the region, to include a $1 billion total economic impact each year and $517 million in public health savings each year. In addition, the network would be able to serve 3.9 million residents each year and support more than 16,000 jobs over a 25-year period.
This grant will not only improve the quality of life for Prince Georgians, but residents across our region. We want to thank our regional and federal partners, as well as the Capital Trails Coalition, for their support to expand access to trails across the County. We are so proud of the progress we are making to ensure that our County continues to be a great place to live, work, and play, and we know that we have so much to look forward to in the future.
Yours in service,
Angela Alsobrooks
Prince George’s County Executive
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