A state grant for the Third Ward rehabilitation project in the City of Bradford is going to make significant improvements in some heavily traveled parts of the city.
Sidewalks, streets and even pedestrian access for a playground will be covered by the $704,840 grant, announced Thursday by the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation and state Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint.
Sara Andrews, interim executive director of the Office of Economic and Community Development, said the city is pleased to have been awarded the funding.
“These improvements will provide safer conditions for pedestrians, especially students who walk to Bradford Area High School from areas south of West Washington Street and residents who walk to the McDowell Community Trail from areas north of West Washington Street,” Andrews said.
“This project is the first street improvement project in the city’s designated Third Ward Neighborhood Revitalization Area,” Andrews continued. She acknowledged that costs seem high with the project. “The estimated project cost is prepared by a licensed professional engineer and is based upon anticipated construction costs for 2025 or 2026 (when the project will likely take place).”
She explained, “PennDOT construction requirements are generally more expensive than locally sponsored construction projects, so the cost was estimated in accordance with recently bid PennDOT funded construction projects.”
Everything went up since the pandemic, she added,
“We have yet to see these costs go down and have had to budget accordingly when we prepare grant applications for specific project funding,” she said. “Unfortunately, I have no explanation as to why construction costs are still so high four years after the pandemic. I just have to make sure we estimate accurately and ask for enough funding to cover the cost so that we can carry out the project as planned.”
The projects include intersection improvements at North Bennett Street, Barbour Street and Campus Drive. Pedestrian access improvements will be made for the playground and the McDowell Community Trail. These improvements include new ADA-compliant curb ramps, signage, colored asphalt crosswalks and a new sidewalk on the west side of Campus Drive.
The installation of new sidewalks, curbs and pedestrian street lighting will take place on North Bennett Street. A stamped asphalt crosswalk and street signage will be installed near West Washington Street.
“This is a valuable investment in our local infrastructure that will help make the City of Bradford safer and more efficient for pedestrians,” Causer said.
The funding was awarded through the Surface Transportation Block Grant Program Set-Aside, also known as the Transportation Alternatives Set-Aside. Selections were made based on established criteria such as safety benefits, cost effectiveness, readiness for implementation, impact on low-income or minority communities, statewide or regional significance, integration of land use and transportation decision making, collaboration with stakeholders, and leveraging of other projects or funding.
PennDOT received 137 applications this round, requesting over $165 million. Applications were reviewed by representatives from PennDOT, the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources, and the Metropolitan and Rural Planning Organizations.
The Third Ward project area is a targeted Neighborhood Partnership Program, where community partners Northwest, Zippo and American Refining Group partner with the Downtown Bradford Revitalization Corp. and the City of Bradford to revitalize a neighborhood.
The NPP aims to improve the quality of life in the chosen areas of revitalization, increase the housing tax base, improve the housing stock, address blight conditions, improve pedestrian safety and promote inviting and walkable neighborhoods.
Improvements in Callahan Park are part of the project. The city is working with Triangle Works to place an incubator-accelerator facility in the old McCourt Label building, too.
At the same time, work has begun on a KFC at the old Dairy Queen site.
