$150M Grant Transforms Cross Bronx Expressway With Bus Lanes

The New York State Department of Transportation has received a $150 million federal grant to transform an initial segment of the Cross Bronx Expressway into a multimodal community connector, a project that officials say could help ease the commuting burden on Bronx residents while addressing long-standing environmental and social divides. The grant, announced as part of a broader federal infrastructure push, will fund dedicated bus lanes and pedestrian and bicycle pathways along the corridor, aiming to provide more affordable and efficient travel options for a borough where many households spend a significant share of income on transportation.

The redesign follows the release of the 'Reimagine the Cross Bronx' study, which was backed by a $2 million USDOT RAISE grant and issued its Final Vision in March 2025. That study recommended potential capping of roadway sections to reconnect communities that were bisected when the expressway was built decades ago, a move that could reduce the isolation of neighborhoods like Morrisania, Crotona Park East, and Claremont. The capping proposals, if realized, would create new public spaces and pedestrian links over the highway, directly addressing a legacy of displacement and inequity that residents and advocacy groups have long criticized.

Connecting transit and housing

Alongside the expressway overhaul, the Bronx Metro-North Station Area plan-approved in August 2024-promises to generate nearly 7,000 homes and 10,000 jobs near four new train stations expected to open in 2027. The stations, part of a long-awaited expansion of Metro-North Railroad into the eastern Bronx, are designed to give residents in neighborhoods such as Hunts Point and Parkchester faster access to Manhattan jobs and services, potentially reducing the need for costly car ownership. The combination of new transit links and housing could help stabilize rents by increasing supply in a borough where rent-burdened households have become the norm.

Phase Two of the $1.7 billion Hunts Point Access Improvement Project, which rehabilitates the Bruckner Expressway and Bruckner Boulevard, has been completed ahead of schedule and under budget, according to state officials. That project improves freight and commuter traffic flow in the South Bronx, an industrial hub where many residents work in logistics, food distribution, and wholesale trades. The timing is critical: with inflation squeezing household budgets, speedier truck movement can help lower the cost of goods moving through Hunts Point Terminal Market, and shorter, safer commutes can mean less spent on gas and tolls.

Housing and infrastructure funding stream

A $5 billion funding commitment under the 'City for All' housing plan includes $2 billion set aside specifically for infrastructure investments like stormwater systems, street improvements, and sewer upgrades across the five boroughs, with the Bronx positioned to receive a significant share given its aging infrastructure and vulnerability to flooding. The dedicated bus lanes on the Cross Bronx Expressway could also reduce congestion-related delays for local buses serving areas like University Heights and Kingsbridge, making the more affordable option of public transit more reliable for workers who depend on it to reach jobs in Manhattan and the Bronx itself.

Officials have not published a detailed timeline for construction of the Cross Bronx Corridor connector, but the 'Reimagine the Cross Bronx' Final Vision provides a long‑term framework. The federal grant is expected to fund the design and early construction of the first multimodal segment, and further phases would depend on additional state and city funding, as well as community input from ongoing planning studies. For Bronx residents, the promise of a less congested, more equitable commute is tied directly to household budgets-and the projects moving through the pipeline represent the most concrete steps in decades toward reshaping the borough’s infrastructure.