The city of Lewiston is going after a much bigger Federal Lands Access Program grant to fund improvements like sidewalks, curbs and gutters around Snake River Avenue now that the program has been expanded.
The Western Federal Lands Highway Division of the Federal Highway Administration, which administers the program, also removed the requirement for local matching funds. Lewiston city councilors previously approved an application in December for approximately $822,000 to build sidewalks and other improvements on 11th Avenue between Prospect and Snake River avenues to make it safer and easier to access the levee trails, the Mtn Dew Skatepark and Kiwanis Park. Improvements on that part of the project include new sidewalks and pavement, ADA compliant ramps and a signalized crossing at the intersection of 11th and Snake River avenues. The local match was going to be about $65,000.
But Public Works officials got word in late December of the expansion of the grant program and the elimination of the local match requirement because of the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act. So they upped their request to $3.5 million to cover the cost of the initial project and extend it along Snake River Avenue to the Southway Avenue roundabout.
The city council approved the revised grant application Monday, with only Luke Blount voting no. The city would like to put the project out for bids as early as next year. But the application acknowledges that the funding might not be available until 2025. (Lewiston Tribune)
