AUSTIN (KXAN) — U.S. Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg announced Tuesday that more than $1 million has been awarded to the city of Austin for the I-35 Cap and Stitch Program.

The $1.12 million grant will fund a mobility study for Our Future 35, a proposed plan to add deck space and an east-west connection to the Texas Department of Transportation’s I-35 extension near downtown. It comes almost a week after the Austin City Council backed the cap and Stitch design and called for improvements to the TxDOT Base Expansion Project.

Grant funding is provided through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) grant program. RCP’s first round of funding was awarded $185 million in grants distributed among 45 communities.

Future 35’s Cap and Stitch program is offered and funded separately from the TxDOT expansion proposal. The proposed model from Our Future 35 could include parkland or public spaces above the sunken sections of I-35, and extended east–west walking and biking paths across the highway.

This latest round of financial support comes after the Austin City Council accepted $1.5 million in federal funds back in December to support the design and development of the Cap and Stitch program.

On Tuesday afternoon, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and Build America Bureau Executive Director Morteza Farajian will sign a new projects agreement to identify funding opportunities for mobility initiatives such as Our Future 35’s Cap and Stitch proposal.