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

The $1.12 million grant will fund a mobility study for Our Future 35, the proposed plan to add deck plazas and east-west connectivity to the Texas Department of Transportation’s I-35 expansion near downtown. This comes nearly a week after Austin City Council issued its support for the cap and stitch design, along with calling for improvements to TxDOT’s base expansion project.

The grant funding comes through the Reconnecting Communities Pilot (RCP) Grant Program. The RCP’s first round of funding featured $185 million in grant awards allocated across 45 communities.

Our Future 35’s Cap and Stitch program is being proposed and funded separate from TxDOT’s expansion proposal. The proposed model from Our Future 35 could feature parkland or community spaces above the sunken portions of I-35, along with enhanced pedestrian and bike paths running east to west across the highway.

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

Tuesday afternoon, Austin Mayor Kirk Watson and the Build America Bureau Executive Director Morteza Farajian will sign an emerging projects agreement, aimed at identifying funding opportunities for mobility initiatives like Our Future 35’s Cap and Stitch proposal.