The Connecticut Bond Commission formally set aside millions in funding for two key city projects last week, the New Haven Independent reported. Downtown Crossing, an effort to reconnect downtown by replacing the Route 34 connector with an urban boulevard, will receive $7.9 million from the commission. This will be in addition to $16.9 million the project has already received in federal TIGER II stimulus money. The commission also awarded $350,000 to Youth Continuum, a support organization for at-risk youth, so that it can renovate two of its six New Haven group homes.