East Milwaukee gets to stretch

The city of Spencer is seeing the first drops of a $789 billion economic stimulus bill signed by President Barack Obama in February.

The money was funneled through the Iowa Department of Transportation, to Spencer on Tuesday. The city will receive $422,500 for an extension of East Milwaukee Street through a Revitalize Iowa's Sound Economy (RISE) grant.

The money will assist in the construction of approximately 2,450 feet of new roadway from the east end of East Milwaukee Street east and north to future 17th Avenue East. The project will allow access to seven new lots totaling over 40 acres in Phase I of the Green Industrial Center.

"The first phase, roughly is a little more than $1.4 million so obviously this is a substantial part of bringing these costs down," said Spencer City Manager Bob Fagen.

Fagen was in Ames Tuesday morning to field any questions from the Department of Transportation Commission about the project. With Tuesday's approval, Fagen hopes to see work on the road completed in the upcoming construction season.

The city and Spencer Municipal Utilities purchased 200 acres of land between the east beltway and the city's wastewater treatment plant from the Green Family Trust in 2008. City leaders want to annex the land for an environmentally-friendly industrial park. The site would include rain gardens and a rural cross-section street with natural drainage rather than traditional curb and gutter.

In total Gov. Chet Culver announced approved projects totaling $30.9 million from the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) for transit and transportation enhancement programs. Spencer was one of four communities to receive funding through the RISE program.

"During these tough economic times, we must do all we can to improve our economy and put Iowans back to work," Culver said, in a statement from the governor's office. "I am proud to announce that, with this action by the Transportation Commission, we are doing just that. Thanks to President Obama's recovery package, we now have millions of dollars to help improve our infrastructure. And as today's efforts show, we are not waiting to use these funds in order to help our communities and put Iowans back to work."

The DOT Commissioners also awarded $186,365 to the Dickinson County Conservation Board for the resurfacing and renovation of the original Spine Trail and Poyzer Trail.

Culver cited one estimate that a $100 million investment in transportation infrastructure construction supports and retains nearly 2,800 jobs.

The Commission also approved increased funding for Iowa's two statewide transit programs. About $10.7 million will go to assists public transit systems serving urban areas with populations between 50,000 and 200,000. A second earmark of $15.2 million provides funding for public transit systems serving less populated regions.

Department of Transportation commissioners also added $227.8 million to the highway section of the 2009-2013 Iowa Transportation Improvement Program as a result of the stimulus appropriation.

Story City, Dubuque and Iowa City joined Spencer in receiving RISE grants. Each of the applications focused on better access for industrial park expansions.