HARRISBURG — The Commonwealth Financing Authority announced funding for projects all over the state on Thursday, but perhaps none was more welcome than the $1.57 million for Port Allegany Borough.
Sen. Cris Dush, R-Brookville, and Rep. Martin Causer, R-Turtlepoint, announced the local projects that had received funding, including $1.57 million through the Multimodal Transportation Fund to replace the Arnold Avenue bridge in Port Allegany.
Borough Manager Jeremy Morey explained the funding request has been made and denied each year for the last five or six years.
“The bridge has a lot of school bus traffic,” he said, “it’s about 125 feet from the Port Allegany High School.”
The condition of the bridge has been rated poor by the state, and it is posted at 22 tons, with a combo of 26 tons.
“It’s not in great shape,” Morey said. “It’s heavily used during the school year. It also has a pedestrian walkway. It’s a very important bridge here in the borough.”
If funding would have been granted years ago, it would have been for a rehabilitation rather than a replacement, he added.
“Sadly, when this bridge was first applied for, it was only about a $550,000 to $600,000 project,” he said. “Because we’ve been denied funds, it’s now about a $2 million project. It would have been a quarter of the cost.”
Morey said the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation is undertaking the preliminary engineering on the project under the North Central Pennsylvania Regional Planning and Development Commission Transportation Improvement Plan.
“The hope is to do the whole construction during the summer,” he said, adding that the street where traffic would have to be rerouted would not easily accommodate two-way bus traffic. It looks like the project would be in 2025 or 2026.
“We’re very happy to receive some money,” Morey said.
The legislators explained that this funding is sorely needed in the region.
“Marty and I are keenly aware that the infrastructure needs have been underfunded in our rural communities,” said Dush. “We’ve teamed up to identify the most critical needs and successfully advocate for them. We have many more in our counties and we will continue to build on this recent success for those that remain.”
Also in McKean County, Mount Jewett Regional Sewer Authority received $74,372 for replacement of the lagoon system aerator located in Mount Jewett Borough; Annin Township received $381,100 for resurfacing a portion of Annin Creek Road; Keating Township received $123,634 for purchasing an excavator; and Lewis Run Borough received $123,000 for water main replacement.
In Cameron County, $229,544 was awarded to the Mid-Cameron Authority for the rehabilitation of two lift stations – the West Creek and Prospect stations which each provide sewer services to Shippen Township – located in Emporium Borough; and $300,000 was awarded to Emporium Borough for purchasing equipment such as a dump truck and street cleaning vacuum.
In Potter County, $395,270 was awarded to Coudersport Borough for the Ross Glen Road stormwater rehabilitation project, and $232,007 was awarded to Austin Borough for upgrading borough trucks that are more than 15 years old and purchasing an excavator.
“These grants will go a long way toward helping so many of our communities meet basic infrastructure, maintenance and transportation needs,” Causer said. “I am always happy to advocate for funding for communities across Cameron, McKean and Potter counties.”
In Elk County, Dush teamed with Rep. Mike Armanini, R-DuBois, to announce $410,757 was awarded by the CFA to the City of St. Marys for a project to replace sewer line pipes that have reached the end of their useful life and are failing at an increasing rate.
“As we have seen throughout Pennsylvania, much of our aging infrastructure — particularly our water and sewer systems — is increasingly in need of repair and replacement,” said Dush. “I’m glad to have helped St. Marys secure this funding for this necessary project to replace this sewer line.”
Armanini agreed.
“I am very pleased to have worked with Senator Dush in bringing this much needed funding to St. Marys,” the legislator said. “This is the first step that needs to be taken in order to keep St. Marys a growing community.”
With the exception of the Arnold Avenue bridge project, the grants are supported through the Local Share Account program, with that funding created by the PA Race Horse Development and Gaming Act (Act 71 of 2004), which provides for the distribution of gaming revenues through the CFA to support projects in the public interest within Pennsylvania.
