WHEELING, W.Va. — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said Wheeling reminded him of his hometown of South Bend, Indiana, when he visited Tuesday to take a look at a $32 million streetscape project.
“This is a community that lost some of its population and jobs but is now growing and looking to the future,” Buttigieg said on a social media post from downtown Wheeling. “It reminds me of my hometown of South Bend in so many ways.”
Half of the project’s financing, $16.25 million, is from a federal RAISE grant. Buttigieg said President Joe Biden has made investing in infrastructure projects a top priority.
“This is what President Biden’s vision of investing in America looks like in practice, making sure that we support public investments, like what the City of Wheeling is doing in its downtown, and seeing private investment respond,” Buttigieg said.
Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott organized a roundtable discussion with Buttigieg where he invited business owners to talk about both the advantages and challenges the streetscape project is creating. Elliott said Buttigieg made key contributions to the discussion.
“He could not have been any nicer,” Elliott told MetroNews. “I’ve met a lot of people in different positions of office. He was incredibly engaged in the conversation, very polite, he asked great questions. It was clear he was listening to what everyone was saying in the meeting. I really do appreciate him coming here.”
Our infrastructure investments are helping revitalize Wheeling, WV – shaping this Main Street area to be safer, more accessible, and more economically strong. These public investments represent Bidenomics in action. pic.twitter.com/py0luyAE1x
— Secretary Pete Buttigieg (@SecretaryPete) July 18, 2023
The streetscape project, which was first brought to the table in 2016, is meant to beautify downtown Wheeling and improve the roads and sidewalks. The project will add ADA-compliant curb cuts, widened sidewalks, freshly paved roads, and decorative brickwork along Main Street and Market Street, between 10th Street and 16th Street downtown. The project will also add decorative traffic signals, plants, and trees.
Elliott said the look of the downtown was stuck in a different time period.
“The roads, the sidewalks, the trees, everything looked a little bit stale because different sidewalks were done at different times nothing look cohesive. Now it’s all going to match,” he said.
Right now it’s all orange cones, Elliott said
“We’re encouraging people to be as patient as they can. We’re asking them to still patronize local businesses and it does take a little extra effort to get to those places,” he said. “They survived through covid and we don’t want them to lose business now.”
Elliott said he’s thankful Buttigieg chose Wheeling to visit.
“To have the transportation secretary in the City of Wheeling is just a great win. Because this project is really reshaping our entire downtown footprint. Downtown is a complete construction zone right now but I think that’s why they wanted to come here and see the work in progress,” Elliott said.