Two city beautification projects are to begin next week.

Construction of a long awaited Rotary Park biking and hiking trail is expected to begin by the end of the month, according to Art Cordwell, director of the city redevelopment authority.

The authority received a state grant in 2010 for the trail, but progress on the project was delayed since then.

Mayor Maggie Stock said she was excited work on the trail was about to start.

“We’ve been planning this for more than two years,” she said. “I’m happy to see it get started.”

The paved trail will start behind Pullman Park and run through Rotary Park to South Chestnut Street, according to Cordwell.

The nearly $325,000 project, which will combine the state grant and a community development block grant, also will have new lights installed in the area. Construction is expected to take about six weeks.

The city also will have work done along Main Street next week.

Under the Neighborhood Partnership Program, decorative street lights, trees, and benches will be installed along the intersection of Penn and Main streets.

The neighborhood program, which is run by the Pittsburgh History and Landmarks Foundation, is an initiative of the state Department of Community and Economic Development.

The goal of the program is to link residential areas to downtown businesses.

David Farkes, the director of the Main Street Programs with the foundation, said the program is quite successful for cities like Butler.

“I think the program has been successful because it is aimed to encourage patronage to businesses along Main Street,” he said. “The projects planned moving forward will lead to more customers for downtown businesses.”

Farkes said the five new street lights will have a traditional look to match the architecture of the buildings in the city.

The neighborhood program seeks to do similar work along McKean Street, but would need more fundraising to do so, Farkes said, adding that he hopes the success of the Penn Street project will help lead to more funds.

This is the third year of the six-year program in Butler. The neighborhood program in the past two years replaced a stretch of sidewalk along Jefferson Street and created the welcome sign near Penn Street.

The program is funded by Armstrong and Huntington Bank, which each contribute $50,000 per year in exchange for a tax credit.

The neighborhood program also will add more signs to the Butler Freeport Trail to better connect that hiking and bicycling trail to downtown, Farkes said.

“We want to make it both easier for visitors to find the trail and easier to find a way from the trail to downtown,” Farkes said.

Work on the project is expect to take about a month.