Stimulus Project List Changes...

During yesterday's Transportation Policy Committee (TPC) meeting, changes to the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) or stimulus act project list were approved.

The changes include removing some projects from the list and moving them to a different federal funding source, removing them without assigning alternative funding, and adding some new projects to the ARRA list. Many of these changes were made because projects could not meet the designated deadlines for the stimulus funding.

At the request of the project sponsor, the TPC approved the removal of the Bullitt County signage project and the Louisville Metro’s Intermodal Transit Center project from the ARRA funding list. The signage project cost was $1219 and the Transit Center was funded at $1,856,026.

In addition, the Eighth Street Repaving project in Jeffersonville, Indiana, was removed from the list. The funding amount was $158,939. It was replaced with a Floyd County (IN) project to add warning signals and striping at Highland Hills Middle, Galena Elementary and Floyd Central High schools. Funding for the new project will remain the same as the amount that was designated for the Eighth Street project.

Some projects were moved from AARA funding to a different federal funding program (the Surface Transportation Program Urban (SLO) funds) due to time constraints. These projects, descriptions, costs and project sponsors are:
· Ohio River Levee Trail: 13,000 linear feet of trail between the Riverside Historic Site and the Mill Creek Generating Station. Funding amount: $687,500. Sponsor: Louisville Metro Parks.
· Stonestreet Elementary School Outdoor Classroom: Construct a shared use path from neighborhood sidewalk to the rear of the school property, and provide outdoor classroom amenities along the shared use path. Project will include a wetland restoration on school site. Funding amount: $82,500. Sponsor: Jefferson County Public Schools.
· KY 155 Streetscape: Improve streetscape, reconstruct sidewalks and enhance landscaping from College Drive to Ruckriegel Parkway. Funding amount: $900,000. Sponsor: City of Jeffersontown.
· I-71 Pedestrian Overpass: Construction of a pedestrian/bicycle bridge over Interstate I-71 along KY 146. Funding amount: $876,853. Sponsor: Oldham County Government.
· AB Sawyer Greenway and Connector Trails: 2,800 linear feet of a 10-foot wide multi-use path through AB Sawyer Park, connecting to surrounding neighborhoods. Project includes an underpass, bridge, and site amenities. Funding amount: $616,000. Sponsor: Louisville Metro Parks.
· Bullitt County Walkable Community Workshops: Implementation of improvements identified by the Walkable Community Workshop in Bullitt County. Specific locations are in the process of being provided by Bullitt County. Funding amount: $198,000. Sponsor: Bullitt County Government.
· Old Floydsburg Road Safety Improvements: Replace narrow one-lane culvert crossing; clear trees and vegetation out of right-of-way; add shoulder to the road, and add signage for safety. Funding amount: $440,000. Sponsor: Oldham County Government.
· Seneca Loop Extension East and West: East: Design and construction completing the loop in Seneca Park by adding bicycle facilities on Cannons Lane, Dutchman's Lane and KY 155 (Taylorsville Road); West: Design and construction to make connections from Cherokee Park and Seneca Loop to Beargrass Trail and eventual connections to Butchertown Trail and Riverwalk. Work plan considers safety and operational improvements at various street/intersection crossings including the intersection of Lexington Road and Grinsted Drive and Beargrass Trail entrances. Funding amount: $770,000. Sponsor: Louisville Metro Public Works.

Once these changes were approved, two projects were added to the ARRA list. The projects added to the list are:

· Louisville Metro Sidewalk Rehabilitation: Repair existing sidewalks. Funding amount: $1,856,026.
· KY 913 (Blankenbaker Parkway) Extension: Extend KY 913 (Blankenbaker Parkway) as 5 lane road from Blankenbaker Access Road to KY 155 (Taylorsville Road). Funding amount: $4,245,662.

The Blankenbaker Parkway Extension project was previously funded through the SLO program. In order to continue the advancement of the ARRA projects that were removed from the list due to the deadlines, a portion of the SLO funding already designated for the Blankenbaker project was allotted to those projects. The ARRA funding previously associated with those projects was then allocated to Blankenbaker Parkway. This exchange in funding source will permit not only the projects originally identified for the stimulus program but also the Blankenbaker Extension to be fully funded and to proceed without delay.

For more information on these changes, please call Josh Suiter, KIPDA Community Outreach Specialist, at (502) 266-6084.