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Berlin loses nearly $1M in funding for Route 113 work; mayor calls grant cut ‘heartbreaking’

By Tara Fischer

Staff Writer

(Aug. 14, 2025) The future of a project to create safe bicycle and pedestrian crossings on Route 113 in Berlin now looks bleak, as a significant portion of already awarded funding has been rescinded due to an action by the federal government.

An initiative aimed at improving pedestrian and biking conditions across Route 113, a highway that has long divided the Berlin community, has been severely impacted by federal funding cuts. The news that $950,000 allocated towards the proposal has been revoked was announced last week.

The almost $1 million was to be used on the “Bridging the Highway that Divides Berlin: Reconnecting Neighborhoods Split by US-113” project. The initiative’s goal is to create crossings and bicycle access across 113 to provide residents, particularly those who live on Flower Street, safe avenues to healthcare facilities, the town’s only grocery store, schools, parks, and downtown Berlin.

Route 113 was installed in the 1950s, which created an east-west divide through the heart of the community. The highway separates the two sides of Berlin and restricts safe, walkable access to amenities for those who reside on the east side across from downtown. The Connecting Neighborhoods effort aims to address this issue by implementing connectivity projects, such as a bike and pedestrian bridge over the route.

That project will now face significant roadblocks. A grant of $1.2 million was awarded last year through the Department of Transportation’s Neighborhood Access and Equity Program, established by the Inflation Reduction Act.  The town was recently notified that $950,000 of that money has been cut due to a congressional action that eliminated all unobligated balances from the NAE Program under the Trump administration’s Big Beautiful Bill that was signed into law by the president on July 4. A Berlin press release notes that $250,000 in obligated funds are still available, but that the municipality’s “comprehensive efforts to evaluate and plan for safer pedestrian crossings over US Route 113 will be significantly decreased.”

The nearly $1 million, which has now been rescinded, was awarded for the design and planning phases of the project. This money was not to be used for the construction of the bridge or other safe crossing measures. Town officials maintained during a November Mayor and Council meeting, in which this effort was discussed, that they were seeking additional funding sources to cover the actual implementation costs.

Town officials expressed their disappointment over the cuts.

“We have spent years working to address the safety concerns created by the installation of US-113 in the 1950s,” Berlin Mayor Zack Tyndall said in a statement. “Losing this critical funding is heartbreaking, especially to the children and families of the Flower Street neighborhood, who were looking forward to this grant so they could safely bike to school and downtown Berlin. Currently, the only way we can provide them with that opportunity is by completely shutting down Route 113 with police support every year. That’s not a sustainable solution—it’s a reminder of just how urgently we need long-term, safe, and equitable infrastructure in place.”

The town will continue to explore alternative funding options.