Sunday, October 31, 2010

$15M in grants fund various projects in E-town and surrounding area

Now that the municipal budgeting season has arrived, all eyes for Borough Council members and the people they represent will be on the bottom line of the budget. And most likely, everyone will want to know if there will be a tax increase or not. At the moment, it's way too early to tell since councilmen just received draft copies of the budget this weekend to review.

It is an appropriate time, though, to discuss some of the great projects that are happening in and around Elizabethtown -- all funded through federal and state grants. In all, it's about $15 million for some  projects that borough tax dollars are not financing. All of these will be quality improvements to the community's infrastructure.

Elizabethtown Train Station, with overflow parking facilities -- $9.3 million
This project, which we anticipate will be completed by June 2011, is funded by the federal stimulus, also known as the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act.

West College Avenue Phase II -- $3.7 million
Money for this project, which will include the construction of a bridge over the Conoy Creek, is coming from the Federal Highway Administration. It has been advertised for bids, which will be opened in November. If all goes as planned, it will be done by October 2012.

Center Square Renovation Project -- $350,000
Plans to upgrade and renovate Center Square have been on the books for some time, and the funding is from the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation's Hometown Streets program.

Traffic signal synchronization -- $760,000
As I wrote about previously, all of the traffic signals in the Elizabethtown area are slated for upgrades and synchronization. This regional project -- the borough, Mount Joy Township and West Donegal Township all are working together -- is funded by state and county grants.

Downtown Pathways projects -- $850,000
Various phases of this have been awarded $250,000 by the state Department of Community and Economic Development, $100,000 in Urban Enhancement funds from Lancaster County and $600,000 in Redevelopment and Capital Assistance Program.

College Avenue/Market Street intersection improvements -- $151,000
Lancaster County's Urban Enhancement funds are also financing this project, which will be done after the construction of the bridge and West College Avenue.

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