BUFFALO TWP — The township is using grants to help resurface sections of the Butler-Freeport Community Trail.

The resurfacing will take place on the southern part of the trail.

Township Supervisor John Haven, board chairman, said this work is needed for those sections of the 23-year-old trail.

“That’s the original surface,” Haven said.

In 2014, the supervisors applied for a state Department of Transportation grant totaling $426,000 to resurface the part of the trail from Sarver to Freeport. The township was awarded the grant this year, and Haven said PennDOT will put the project out to bid soon for construction in the summer.

A few months ago, the supervisors applied for another PennDOT grant, this time totaling $333,000. This money would be used to resurface the trail from Marwood to Bonniebrook Road.

Haven said the township still is waiting to hear if it will get the grant.

Once this work is done, Haven said resurfacing likely will not have to happen again for 15 years.

The township owns the 20-mile trail, which connects Butler to Freeport. The first portion of the trail opened in 1992, and it was not officially completed until this summer, when a bridge crossing Coal Run in Butler was installed.