HARRISBURG — Road work, sidewalks, park improvements and a natural gas fueling station are among the projects in Butler County that will get state grant money this year.

More than $152 million was awarded for 418 projects under state programs, according to a news release from Gov. Tom Wolf.

In the county, the Seneca Landfill on Hartmann Road in Jackson Township received a $898,513 alternative and clean energy grant for a compressed natural gas fueling station.

Ed Vogel Jr., vice president of Vogel Holdings, said the company hopes to put in the fueling station this year. The estimated cost is $1.5 million, but it has not yet hired a contractor.

The landfill has a system that converts methane and carbon dioxide from decomposing trash into a biogas, which goes into a pipeline that runs through the property.

The fueling station will allow that gas to be put into its garbage trucks and the company is considering making the gas available for sale to the public too, Vogel said.

By recycling garbage to power its trucks, the company is lowering its environmental impact, Vogel said.

“At the landfill, the trash that we’re bringing in is going to fuel the trucks that are going to then bring in more trash, “ he said.

Of the company’s fleet of more than 200 garbage trucks, it has 28 that run on natural gas, but it will look into getting more once the fueling station is built, he said.

It has a refueling station at its office in Adams Township, though its capacity is lower so it takes several hours for the trucks to refill there.

The company’s gas processing plant at the landfill, called Lego V, also was approved for a low-interest loan of $712,110 for two natural gas-burning generators that will produce 3 megawatts of power to offset the landfill’s electric use.

Route 228 work

Cranberry Township received $1.5 million for improvements to Route 228.

Manager Jerry Andree said the money will be put toward an estimated $4.5 million project to add one eastbound lane to the road between Interstate 79 and Franklin Road to add capacity and ease congestion.

Cranberry received a $500,000 grant for the same project two years ago, and it also has been securing rights of way and doing engineering work, he said.

Officials hope to have funding in place so that construction can begin next year, he said.

It is the final improvement the township is planning to the road before construction on a tunnel beneath the road can happen. The tunnel will connect the Cranberry Springs and Cranberry Woods developments.

Zelie downtown

Zelienople received a $1 million grant for the second phase of the borough’s revitalization project, which aims to make improvements on Main Street.

These include streetscape enhancements, sidewalk improvements, aggregate finish for intersections and “bump outs” along Main Street containing vegetation and rock gravel.

“We had applied for it (grant) a couple of years ago, but didn’t get it,” borough manager Don Pepe said. “It’s a great award. We can put that away as part of the next step.”

Although Pepe said the borough has received word of the award, it has not received official documentation.

Other projects

n Marshall Township, Allegheny County, received $100,000 for improvements to Warrendale Park on Mount Pleasant Road.

The money will pay for upgrades to the baseball field there, said Heather Jerry, township parks and recreation director.

They include a new batting cage with a pitching machine, new aluminum bleachers and a chain-link backstop. The township also plans to pave the parking lot, extend a water line, install a handicap-accessible sidewalk and get a new sign, she said.

The field is used by youth leagues, North Allegheny High School and adult leagues.

n The Woodlands, a nonprofit organization in Bradford Woods, Allegheny County, received a $217,450 grant for an access road to a planned environmental learning center in Marshall Township.

The organization in 2014 bought 21.6 acres that borders its 32-acre campus, said Denise Balkovec, director of development. The property, a former farm, will remain mostly undeveloped to be used for outdoor activities.

The Woodlands plans to reconstitute a breached pond there that will be used for fishing and boating. The state grant, as well as an Allegheny County grant and a private grant, will be used to pay for an access road connecting the two properties, a parking lot and lighting, Balkovec said.

The Woodlands works with children and adults with disability and chronic illness, according to its website.

n The developer of Arden Woods, a residential development on Salt Works Road in Lancaster Township, received a grant for $1.5 million for a transportation improvement project.

The development was proposed by Creative Real Estate Development of Cranberry Township and approved in 2004.

n Slippery Rock Community Park received a $212,188 greenways, trails and recreation program grant for sidewalks on Route 258 near Slippery Rock Elementary School.

Eagle Staff writer Amerigo Allegretto contributed to this report.