Millions in federal grant money will go to help revitalize historic neighborhoods west of Phoenix Sky Harbor Airport that were hurt by airport expansion.
The grant for more than $10.2 million will pay to add miles of sidewalk that is compliant with federal disability law.
The grant will also fund several categories of upgrades to the roadway between downtown Phoenix and Sky Harbor Airport.
Officials say the improvements are part of the PHX Cultural Corridor project, a city-led effort to revamp historically Latino and Black neighborhoods near the airport.
The Cultural Corridor is bounded by Seventh Street on the west, 16th Street and Sky Harbor Circle on the east, Union Pacific Railroad on the north and Interstate 17 on the south. It includes the historic Central City South/Nuestro Barrio neighborhoods of El Campito, Cuatro Milpas, Ann Ott, Green Valley and San Juan Batista.
The area is home to the Santa Rita Center. Cesar Chavez fasted there in protest of a 1972 state law against farm workers unionizing, and Dolores Huerta led the chant, "Si se puede."
