In 2024 MaineDOT and the Initiative for Digital Engineering and Life Sciences (IDEALS) applied for a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) GRANT to create connections, improve safety, and facilitate access for the multimodal traffic in and around the future campus of the Roux Institute at Northeastern University.
The Scope of Work for this project includes eight different elements, organized into three components under the Pathways to Bridge Gap RAISE Grant. This initiative is designed to create connections, enhance safety, and improve multimodal access in and around the future campus of the Roux Institute at Northeastern University in East Deering.
Design efforts for several project elements began during the Northeastern University Campus Site Development, led by the Digital Engineering and Life Sciences (IDEALS) team. These initial designs, along with new project components, will be advanced through a series of MaineDOT construction projects funded by the RAISE Grant.
A virtual Public Meeting was held in May 2025 to highlight the efforts involving the first component of work, Component #1 - Early Action Projects, which includes the following three elements:
- Shoreline Stabilization - Coastal hardening efforts will improve the resilience of the shoreline adjacent to the campus path, strengthening the area against the impacts of climate change.
- New Coastal Path - A new multimodal pathway will trace the campus perimeter and shoreline, providing key connections to the shared-use bridge, the Back Cove Path, Sherwood Street shoreline, the campus itself, and nearby bus stops.
- Sherwood Street Improvements - Enhancements will include the addition of a shared-use path and sidewalk along Sherwood Street, between Veranda Street and Bean Pot Drive, improving pedestrian and cyclist safety and access.
MaineDOT will release subsequent presentations that will focus on Components #2 & #3, as those components progress.