Gateway 228 project pushes forward amid search for federal funds
Butler County officials look to push forward with obtaining more funding for the Gateway 228 project after failing to receive a $50.9 million federal INFRA grant.
The Infrastructure for Rebuilding America (INFRA) program, administered by the Federal Highway Administration, awards grants for freight and highway projects of national or regional significance “to improve the safety, efficiency and reliability of the movement of freight and people in and across rural and urban areas.”
Mark Gordon, chief of economic development and planning for Butler County, told the Eagle Thursday afternoon he found out several weeks ago the county did not receive the grant. He said a big reason is the limited amount of available funding. Highway projects across the country can apply for the same grant.
“It made it through the entire process and was highly recommended,” Gordon said. “Unfortunately, they only had $400 million available.”
Gordon said roughly $102 million total is needed to complete construction for the phase of the project the funds would have been used for. The grant, had it been awarded to Butler, would have been paired with $10.7 million in local funds to cover some of that cost.
Specifically, the grant funding would have gone toward completing the Mars Railroad Bridge West portion of the project, made up by the portion of Route 228 running between Franklin Road in Cranberry Township and Pittsburgh Street in Adams Township. The project is marked by a need to widen roads in a high-traffic area where the road is two lanes wide and built on hilly land.
“The basic answer is, we’re not quitting. We continue to have a path moving forward and we will be as diligent as we have been,” Gordon said. “We can’t forget the fact that we’ve already brought $45 million in federal funds here. We have $185 million already invested into that corridor — that we’ve brought here — between federal, state, county and municipal funds.
“The reality is that 3.2-mile-long section … is the most expensive, because of the topography, because of the land value.”
Efforts by public officials have picked up recently to secure funding for the road upgrades.
On Wednesday, Oct. 14, a policy roundtable with local officials and PennDOT leadership was held to discuss the project’s future.
At the roundtable, PennDOT Secretary Mike Carroll said the department would contribute millions in funding though, as of Oct. 15, that number was dependent on what federal grants were secured. PennDOT could not be reached for further clarification Thursday.
Last Thursday, Oct. 15, Gordon traveled to Washington, D.C., with U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, R-16, and met with Federal Highway Administration leadership to discuss funding for the Gateway 228 project.
Gordon said Federal Highway Administration officials discussed other avenues to seek federal funds for the project.
“They reaffirmed that it was not that they didn’t want to fund the project. They ran out of money,” Gordon said. “To Congressman Kelly’s credit, he asked, ‘What’s next?’ This is a significant economic generator and they laid out some options for us. They put out a few options for us on other funding strategies to go after they open at the beginning of the year.”
“Rep. Kelly is continuing to work with local, state and federal partners to secure funding for the final phase of the Route 228 project,” Matt Knoedler, Kelly’s communications director, said. “The representative and our team had a productive meeting with the U.S. Department of Transportation in Washington last week.”
This is not the county’s first go-around with federal grants. It has previously received tens of millions of dollars in BUILD grant funding to support the project.
Gordon expressed confidence in obtaining project funding moving forward.
“We’re going to stick to what we do well and that is advocating for Butler County and being wise stewards of taxpayer dollars and advocating for continued development along that corridor,” Gordon said. “Just because we didn’t score a touchdown in this particular quarter doesn’t mean the game’s over.”
