ROCKFORD — A proposal to transform busy downtown streets into safer pedestrian and bicycle friendly roads is expected to get a boost in the form of $2.5 million in state funding sought by state Sen. Steve Stadelman.

Rockford for a second time is applying for a federal Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development, or BUILD, grant to pay for the $31 million first phase of a project to reconfigure Jefferson and Chestnut streets.

The grant would inject downtown with $25 million in federal money, transforming the pair of one-way, three- and four-lane arterial roads into two-lane, two-way streets with protected bicycle and pedestrian amenities. It would also create a downtown all-electric bus route in conjunction with the Rockford Mass Transit District.

“A downtown that’s a great place to work, live and play is important to the whole community and making streets more bicycle and pedestrian friendly are keys to a thriving downtown,” Stadelman said. “I still believe our community will only be as strong as the central part of our city. We have made great strides downtown and I want to see that continue.”

Rockford’s first attempt to secure the grant last year was unsuccessful.

To improve its chances this time around, Mayor Tom McNamara said, the project is being sponsored by the Illinois Department of Transportation and will include a better analysis of how the project will improve safety.

It is also bolstering the application with a larger match thanks to the $2.5 million Stadelman is working to secure this week as part of an amendment to the Rebuild Illinois program.

Combined with $5.5 million the city would contribute and $700,000 from RMTD, the local and state match would come to 28% of the total project cost.

Also bolstering the new application are letters of support from the region’s congressional delegation, said Bryan Davis, SupplyCore vice president of government affairs and community engagement

Headquartered in downtown Rockford, SupplyCore and its CEO, Peter Provenzano, have long advocated for a strong city core that embraces the tenets of new urbanism and is safe for active transportation.

“This year, I think we are going to have a lot stronger grant application,” Davis said.

Jeff Kolkey: jkolkey@rrstar.com; @jeffkolkey