Part of a nearly $10 million federal grant will be awarded to improvement work for the Syracuse Connective Corridor, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) announced Wednesday.

The $475,000 grant is earmarked for improvements on East Genesee Street, a road used by the Connective Corridor that connects Syracuse University to the city’s downtown area, according to a press release from Schumer’s office. The remaining money will be used for an extension of the Onondaga Lake Trail from the New York State Fairgrounds to the southern lakefront as well as a 2.2-mile pedestrian and bicycle trail from West Jefferson to West Colvin streets in the Onondaga Creek Corridor.

The grant was made available as a result of the Federal Highway Administration and New York State Department of Transportation unlocking the federal fund that had not been spent for transportation projects ten years ago, according to the release. That funding could not be reused until now because of federal regulation, according to the release.

“For over a decade, funds that could have been spent on critical infrastructure projects in Syracuse and Onondaga County have been under lock and key, guarded by federal bureaucracy,”  Schumer said in the release. “But now this money has been unlocked and can be used in Onondaga County on critically-needed projects that are ready to go.”

Gilibrand said in the release she is pleased the funds are available to use.

“Communities across Central New York need access to modern infrastructure in order to stay competitive with the rest of the state, and these transportation funds will help us achieve that goal,” Gillibrand said.