Smithville To Use Multimodal Access Grant Funding On Sidewalk Project

City of Smithville received more than $900,000 in a T-DOT multimodal access grant for work on Highway 70 in the city limits..

Mayor Josh Miller said they have applied for the multimodal grant for several years, and this was the first time the scope of the project was approved. He said the funding will be put towards the construction of some 1,700 feet of much-needed sidewalks and potentially crosswalks in the area.

“There is a lot of industrial property out there and various plants out there,” Miller said. “And you can see in the grass right now where people are walking and there’s no sidewalks. It’s just dangerous.”

Miller said the city plans to have the state lead the sidewalk project. He said that work will be at least a year in the making.

Miller said they also received about $600,000 in a 50/50 CDBG grant for sewer rehab. He said in total, the city is projected to spend more than $2 million on infrastructure.

“I guess I’ve been kind of bragging a little bit that my administration is going to spend more on infrastructure than any other administration in Smithville,” Miller said. “It’s a good project but like a lot of cities, there needs to be a lot of infrastructure improvements and I know Smithville is definitely in need of that and this is going to really help us out on doing a lot of things that you can’t see, which is going to be those pipes in the ground.”