State funding pulled for two road projects
Two area intersection improvement projects that were ready to begin construction have been delayed due to lack of funding caused by coronavirus pandemic.
One intersection is Main Street and Route 113 at the Trappe Center in Trappe.
More than $250,000 in Penn DOT funding was assigned to the project and design work was nearing completion.
The second project was a traffic signal modernization at Linfield Trappe Road and Township Line Road, half of which is in Limerick and half in Upper Providence townships near the entrance to the Spring Valley YMCA.
PennDOT has dedicated $232,000 toward the project and the announcement that funding would be withdrawn came literally two days before bids would have been awarded, according to Limerick Township Manager Dan Kerr.
At the June 16 meeting, when Kerr outlined the problem, he also outlined a possible solution, which the supervisors authorized.
While the two townships work to get the grant back, Limerick has agreed to float $200,000 to the project budget to keep the bid alive.
Township officials were not the only ones upset by the sudden revocation of state funds.
“These grants were awarded to projects in our district as part of the 2017 Green Light-Go grant cycle. With significant work and resources already invested in these projects, there’s no reason that we should not be able to move forward with construction,” state Rep. Joe Ciresi, R-146th Dist., said in a press release issued by his office.
“Both of these projects would have significantly improved safety and traffic flow at key regional arteries,” he said. “PennDOT backing out of its commitments presents a major challenge to our involved municipalities and I urge the department to reverse this decision and restore funding.”
PennDOT has canceled many projects across the state because of declining tax revenues caused by the state-ordered lockdowns.