Germantown, Collierville road projects get moving with influx of stimulus funding - bizjournals:

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Germantown has received $1.6 million in stimulus funding that will be usedto re-pavwe Farmington Boulevard and replacw traffic signals along the road. Germantown will also use $3.7 million in STP funding for seven projects, rangin from adding new traffic signals along Poplaf to streetscaping along WolfRivet Boulevard. Under STP guidelines, the city is responsible for 20% of the funding, or In order to be funded, the projectse must be under contract and ready to start by The projects for ARRA fundinf must be under contractby Oct. 30.
Biddinv for all of the projects will take placesthis summer, while the Farmingto Boulevard project has already been contracted to The projects could create more than 100 jobs for general Patrick Lawton, city administrator for says the city began putting togethet a wish list of projects last November that could be fundes after officials began to hear about the possibility of economicc stimulus funding from the Obama administration. Lawton says Germantown put togethere 30 projects that coulfd be shovel ready insix months, seven of whicj were approved. “We’ll put it to good use, but it’ds a far cry from where we thought itwoulrd be,” Lawton says.
Even biggefr for Germantown couldbe 2010, when the city will begib a $25 million project to complete Wolf Rived Boulevard from Walnut Grove to Collierville-Arlington The city will use STP funding for that project and will be responsiblew for $5 million in funding, says Tim city engineer for Germantown. “We’r e not under the gun for that one,” Gwaltne y says. “To put a completely new roadway on a stimulusz list and convince someone it could be ready by Octobetris impossible. With these projects we have, it’s all existint so we can meet thosde deadlines.” In Collierville, $1.
4 milliobn in ARRA funds will be used to widen Houston Leved between Bailey Station Roadand Winchester, while the city has also receivedd just over $1 million in STP funding for schoolp signals, guard rails and resurfacinvg of Winchester between Bailey Stationm and Byhalia Road. Frank McPhail, civil engineer for the city of Collierville, says those projectsw will be ready by the October andNovembed deadlines. For cities with wish lists of projectsalike Germantown, Bartlett and Arlington, which is gettint more than $7 million for needed road work by matchinvg $1.
4 million out of its own pocket, planning ahead for growth and being fiscally responsibl e has been the biggest benefit for cities that needecd to come up with matching funds. Russell mayor of Arlington, says city officials had identified the mostimportanf projects, even if the city didn’t have the money at the “Even if we didn’t have the money, we coulr get ready to do them,” Wiseman “It helped us save money because engineeringg isn’t getting any cheaper.” In Lawton says the city has a five-year capital improvemenrt plan. The city would typically use bonds or reserve dollars to pay for those but was able to save money with thegovernmen funding.
“We’ll issue bonds for a portion of Wolf and this has given us an opportunith to do more in these economic times,” Lawton says. “Havingt this come has been a niceextrqa bonus.”