BIRMINGHAM, Alabama -- The U.S. Department of Transportation has awarded the city $125,000 to examine transportation and development barriers along the Interstate 20/59 corridor downtown.

The grant comes from the federal government's TIGER program, short for "Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery." Grant recipients were announced Friday.

The amount goes toward a $300,000 "Restoring Pathways to Economic Opportunities" planning project to mitigate impacts of the elevated section of I-20/59, which "bisects neighborhoods in downtown Birmingham, cutting lower income neighborhoods off from economic opportunities," according to the grant summary.

An Alabama Department of Transportation plan is under Federal Highway Administration review to replace I-20/59's bridges through downtown. Built in 1971, the bridges are past their intended structural life. They now carry 160,000 vehicles per day, which is twice their designed load.

During public hearings about the plan, residents in the Druid Hills, Fountain Heights and Norwood neighborhoods have raised concerns about the project's impacts on their access routes.

Also listed in the TIGER-funded project's broad scope is looking at ways to enhance transportation connections in Birmingham and ways to provide better access to healthier food, more land for retail development, jobs and educational opportunities.

The study, according to the grant summary, is in line with what residents have outlined as priorities in the city's comprehensive plan.

Birmingham's project is one of 72 in 46 states to receive funding during the sixth round of TIGER grants. The transportation department received 797 applications for this round.

The city has received TIGER funds before. In a prior round in 2012, Birmingham received $10 million for recovery from the tornadoes of April 27, 2011. That money was matched with local dollars to improve streets and sidewalks and create bike and pedestrian trails.