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A much-needed highway project for the city of St. George, Utah, was scuttled when President Donald Trump signed the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act.

The $87 million project would have built crosswalk underpasses along I-15, which currently divides the city.

St. George councilwoman Dannielle Larkin was part of the coalition that obtained the grant. She said losing the funding came as a shock.

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"This was a really important project for us," said Larkin. "We already celebrated. We had a big celebration when we were awarded the funding initially, because it really is such an important connector and safe route to school in our community."

The budget bill rescinded more than $2 billion approved for infrastructure projects under the Biden-era Inflation Reduction Act. Utah voted overwhelmingly for Trump in 2020 and 2024.

U.S. Representative Celest Milloy, R-UT, whose district includes St. George, voted yes on the budget bill. She did not respond to a request for comment.

The Neighborhood Access and Equity Grant Program that funded improvements on I-15 was considered "woke" and aimed to meet climate initiatives, a U.S. Department of Transportation spokesman told POLITICO.

Larkin said she was disappointed that the project was seemingly canceled for its name.

"That was the impetus for this particular project being flagged, was the fact that it was helping people," said Larkin. "It's just such an odd reason to retract funding. It makes no sense to me, personally."

The underpasses were designed to save residents travel time when taking children to school or city services.

Larkin said local officials hope to find a way to save the project, but adds they're up against a deadline. The underpasses were planned in addition to other improvements along I-15, which are going ahead as planned.

The state says that they don't have the funding, so we have definitely been exploring other sources, but we haven't made any headway with that.