One proposal in 2005, which was considered for federal aid, would have reduced the number of lanes on the loop between Clinton Avenue and Main Street to make room for additional shops and businesses on the streets adjacent to the Inner Loop. Another plan, developed in 2009, called for the portion of the Loop from Main Street to Monroe Avenue (NY 31) to be completely filled in and replaced with an at-grade boulevard. The $20 million project was approved by a city council committee in September 2011; however, a $15 million federal grant application was denied later in the year. Then, in 2012, Rochester Mayor Thomas Richards spent $2 million on further design work that strengthened the city's request for federal funding. On August 30, 2013, the city of Rochester was given a TIGER grant worth $18 million (2013 USD) to fill in the Inner Loop between Monroe Avenue and Charlotte Street. The new project also gave money to reconnect the neighborhoods separated by the Inner Loop, Park Avenue and South Wedge.