Brown touts Youngstown SMAR2T Corridor proposal as rebuilding blueprint

YOUNGSTOWN

U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown used the $15.5 million Youngstown SMAR2T Corridor proposal today as an example of a project that would be funded under an overall Senate Democratic plan to rebuild and repair the country’s infrastructure.

“Rebuilding American infrastructure will put Ohioans to work on projects like this one,” said Brown, a Cleveland Democrat. “We can create jobs building the roads, transit, and broadband systems that will support our 21st century economy.”

The proposal is to initiate a conversation on President Donald Trump’s campaign statements to invest $1 trillion in the nation’s infrastructure.

Brown said he knows the Republican president won’t accept the Senate Democrats’ proposal at face value and that there is already resistance from the chamber’s GOP majority to investing in infrastructure.

The U.S. Department of Transportation rejected Youngstown’s SMAR2T grant proposal last year under the federal Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery program because of a lack of funding. It was among 230 proposals to be highly rated by the DOT, but wasn’t among the 40 receiving funding.

The proposal included investments in public transportation, bike lanes and pedestrian improvements to link downtown, Youngstown State University, Eastern Gateway Community College and St. Elizabeth Youngstown Hospital.

The proposal will be resubmitted in some form once the DOT seeks requests for funding, Mayor John A. McNally said.