At the Feb. 24 meeting of the Belleville Downtown Development Authority, DDA chairman Kerreen Conley announced she had just received the official letter from the Michigan Department of Transportation saying Belleville was getting a grant for Main Street work.
The MDOT announced a total of $5,011,915 in federal Transportation Enhancement funding that will be used to benefit a diverse range of transportation-related projects in eight Michigan counties.
Belleville’s grant is $458,314, to be used for the streetscape project that will get under way this spring and run all summer. The total cost of the project is $655,260 and the DDA is providing $196,946 in matching funds.
According to the MDOT news release, Belleville will use the funds to help construct a streetscape project on Main Street from just south of Denton Road to Savage. The project includes replacing deteriorating sidewalk pavement and adding decorative streetscape elements within the right of way on Main Street and the Fourth Street Square, including brick pavers, decorative benches, trash receptacles, bike racks, trees, tree grates, shrubs, and planters. The project is being done in conjunction with a road reconstruction and water main replacement project.
Under federal law, 10% of federal surface transportation funds are set aside for Transportation Enhancement projects. TE funds cannot be used to build or repair roads.
Administered by MDOT, TE grants enable communities to invest in projects such as streetscapes and bike paths.
TE grants provide a maximum of 80% of the money required for each project, with the remainder coming from state and local government, and the private sector.
DDA members had been talking about this grant for several months, with their fingers crossed, hoping nothing would derail the expected funding.