Infrastructure Deal Shirks Big Spending on Cut-Off Neighborhoods

A new program to reconnect communities split by highways would get $1 billion in the Senate infrastructure bill, just 5% of what the Biden administration initially proposed, and well below the cost of major projects.

Advocates were disappointed with the cuts, especially given the administration’s pledge to ensure equitable transportation policy. But some said the program’s inclusion was a small step in the right direction if it is followed by more funding, and policies to address the way communities of color have been disproportionately harmed by infrastructure in decades past.

“Like so much in this bill, this is a glass ...