St. George families were promised safer streets. In 2024, the city was awarded $87 million in federal funding to reconnect neighborhoods split apart by Interstate 15. That money was set to build two long-planned underpasses at 400 East and 900 South, crossings that would allow children to walk or bike safely to Dixie High and Dixie Middle Schools instead of detouring more than a mile along busy traffic corridors.

Now, that funding has been stripped away by President Trump’s “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.” Without it, the Utah Department of Transportation can still widen I-15, but the safer connections for students and neighborhoods have been put on hold indefinitely. Families on both sides of the freeway are left with no choice but to navigate dangerous traffic to reach their schools and community destinations.

This is not just about roads. It’s about safety, access, and the future of a rapidly growing city. I-15 was built in the 1970s when St. George was home to about 12,000 people. Today, more than 100,000 residents live in a city divided by a highway designed for another era. The underpasses are about building smarter infrastructure for a community where families deserve safe routes to school, seniors deserve accessible paths, and downtown businesses deserve walkable connections that keep St. George thriving.

City and state officials have said they are working with Utah’s congressional delegation and the U.S. Department of Transportation to find replacement funding. But the message from residents needs to be loud and clear: these crossings are not optional. They are a critical safety project that must be funded.

We call on Governor Spencer Cox, Senator John Curtis, Representative Celeste Maloy, and U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy to work together and restore funding for St. George’s I-15 underpasses. Our families cannot wait years more for safe routes to schools and neighborhoods.

Add your name to demand state and federal leaders restore funding for St. George’s safe crossings and deliver the infrastructure our community was promised.