The city of Dubuque, Iowa opened its $137 million Historic Millwork District multimodal improvement project, a keystone in a strategy to reinvigorate the community by attracting both businesses and residents through expanded transportation options and improved livability.

“Dubuque has overhauled the Historic Millwork District into a livable, walkable community that is attracting businesses and residents alike,” said Secretary LaHood. “This kind of smart transportation planning creates jobs, accommodates all road users — cars, transit, bicycles and pedestrians — and improves public safety.”

The city estimates that due to the design and location, 60% of the new residents within the Historic Millwork District will work downtown. The U.S. Department of Transportation provided a $5.6 million American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery (TIGER) grant to help the city provide more transportation options and reconstruct the street networks to better serve a broad range of users, including drivers, public transportation, pedestrians, bicyclists, seniors, children and people with disabilities.

The Historic Millwork District was redeveloped from old factories and mills, dormant since the early part of the 20th Century, into a new mixed-use development incorporating housing, workplaces and entertainment. The TIGER program was designed to promote innovative, multi-modal and multi-jurisdictional transportation projects that provide significant economic and environmental benefits to an entire metropolitan area, region or the nation.