$23.4 Million Community Accessibility and Connectivity Project in San Angelo

SAN ANGELO, TX - In a recent San Angelo City Council meeting, the spotlight was on the city's ambitious Community Accessibility and Connectivity Project Grant award. 

Operations Director Patrick Frerich delivered a presentation, outlining the developments and future plans.

On October 26, 2023, the Texas Department of Transportation bestowed upon the City of San Angelo an $18,875,004 Transportation Alternatives Set Aside Grant. 

This grant is earmarked for a transformative project—a 13.7-mile-long pedestrian loop that links various key locations throughout San Angelo.

To materialize this vision, the City is mandated to match 20% of the grant, translating to approximately $4.7 million. 

This brings the total project cost to $23.4 million. 

The endeavor named the Community Accessibility and Connectivity Project, aims to create a fully connected pathway linking neighborhoods, downtown, medical facilities, schools, parks, shopping centers, restaurants, grocery stores, and higher education facilities.

While the grant stipulates that funds must be directed exclusively towards pedestrian and bicycle amenities, the CACP will run parallel to ongoing street rehabilitation projects like Downtown Chadbourne Street, 29th/Edmund/Glenna, Avenue N, and Johnson Street. 

The accomplishment was 1 of 83 projects awarded among other cities with populations of 200,000+ and the 2nd highest award amount out of 312 applications. 

Frerich, speaking at the council meeting, shed light on the competitive nature of the grant. 

TxDOT had $345 million at its disposal for allocation to municipalities across Texas, and San Angelo emerged with an $18.7 million slice of the pie. 

A notable caveat of the grant is its exclusive use for pedestrian and bicycle amenities and engineering design.

“We wanted a project that really connected all of our community to various parts throughout town and provided an accessible means for everybody,” Frerich said. 

He also mentioned that to his knowledge, it is the biggest grant that the city has ever received. 

It will be years in the future before construction begins on the project. 

City Mayor Brenda Gunter expressed her support, saying she is "tremendously supportive" and proud of the team efforts that aided in the success behind the funding.