The City of Detroit receives millions in federal grants for construction and planning of Joe Louis Greenway

• A $10.5 million grant will go towards constructing the 1-mile path between Woodward Avenue and Dequindre Street.
• A $2 million grant will go towards the planning and design of the Joe Louis Greenway at Lonyo Street between Patton Park and Romanowski Park.
• Both grants support Joe Louis Greenway’s mission of bridging multiple communities.
• To date, a total of $211 million has been raised for Joe Louis Greenway.

The Biden-Harris Administration has announced that the City of Detroit is a recipient of a $10.5 million grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Federal Highway Administration as part of the Active Transportation Infrastructure Investment Program (ATIIP). This grant will help fund the construction of the Joe Louis Greenway between Woodward Ave. and Dequindre St. in Detroit and Highland Park. Currently, Detroit and Highland Park are divided by an industrial corridor, rail, truck routes and a major freeway. This project would provide a safe east-to-west, non-motorized way to get between the cities.

Highlights of this project include a new bridge over the Canadian National Railroad and transformation of vacant land under I-75 and south of Second Ebenezer Church.

“This is an exciting day for this community and an exciting day for Second Ebenezer Church,” said Senior Pastor and CEO of Second Ebenezer Church, Bishop Edgar Vann II as he reflected on what this property looked like before the church was built. “There was an abandoned truck depot where we’re (the church) sitting right now, there was an abandoned railroad over where we’re talking about the greenway today and to know and understand that the president sends nearly $11 million to this spot so it can be redeveloped into premier land that will be used for building the quality of life for our community is just exciting to me on another level.”

Once completed, the community can expect this stretch of the greenway to look like the path between Joy Rd. and Tireman Avenue.

Under ATIIP, $44.5 million in grants were awarded to 13 states and Puerto Rico, with Joe Louis Greenway being the only project in Michigan.

“To once again have federal support on this incredible project speaks to the difference the Joe Louis Greenway is and will continue to make in our community,” said General Services Director Crystal Perkins. “We’ve cleared years-worth of blight in the Midwest-Tireman neighborhood and have paved a new path in Detroit’s story--this grant helps us build on that.”  

Construction on the path between Woodward Ave. and Dequindre St. is scheduled to start late 2026 and expected to be completed by early 2028.

“This $10.5 million federal grant represents a transformative investment in the Joe Louis Greenway, bringing us closer to realizing a vision of connected communities, equitable access, and active transportation options for all,” said Leona Medley, Executive Director of the Joe Louis Greenway Partnership, the long-term steward of the greenway. “The Partnership remains committed to supporting community, fostering collaboration, and advocating for projects that uplift and unite our neighborhoods.”

In addition to the ATIIP grant, the City of Detroit was recently granted $2 million as part of the U.S. Department of Transportation Federal Railroad Administration’s Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP). Those funds will go towards the design of the Joe Louis Greenway at Lonyo Street between Patton Park and Romanowski Park. The Michigan Infrastructure Office is providing $375,000 in match support for the grant. The City of Detroit is also contributing $125,000.

As the centerpiece of Mayor Mike Duggan’s Blight to Beauty Initiative, the Joe Louis Greenway is a 30-mile regional greenway connecting 23 Detroit neighborhoods to three cities: Dearborn, Hamtramck, Highland Park. Construction started in 2021, with the Warren Gateway trailhead and park. To date, a total of $211 million has been raised for Joe Louis Greenway.