Rural Roads Initiative
Introduction
With the passing of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law in 2021, the Federal Government has expanded its general grant programs for transportation, roads, and bridges, providing more opportunities for regional investment, especially in rural areas. Programs such as RAISE, INFRA, and Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program all have increased funding and could be an avenue to help fund a local, regional project.
These grant programs generally have a $5 million minimum project cost, and none of our local municipalities can accommodate that. However, if we pooled a half-dozen or dozen projects together and then applied, we'd be able to generate the minimum $5 million project threshold. The "Northwest Pennsylvania Rural Roads Initiative" initiative would build a coalition of municipalities to develop a single application, authored and submitted by the county, to draw down federal funding.
In the case of the Rural Surface Transportation Grant Program, the federal government will provide an 80% share of the costs for the program. With a joint application, bringing in multiple municipalities across county lines, we may be able to address 80% of the funding concerns in difficult-to-fix situations. This proposal is a framework for how our county could lead a coalition of municipalities on a joint application effort to fund local roads and bridges.
Municipal Survey
Municipalities in and around Warren County are asked to submit projects through an online survey form. The instructions for the survey are on the form itself. Municipalities may submit 1-3 projects with the understanding that a maximum of 1 may be selected (depending on the number of overall submissions). Submissions will be weighed according to cost, overall impact, and need. The survey is not for citizens to fill out. You may communicate with your township/borough secretary or township/borough supervisor if you would like them to submit an application.
Sharable Survey Doc
Below we have a link to a sharable PDF with instructions and a link to the survey. You may download the document and forward ti to your township or borough government to fill out and submit.
Download the shareable survey doc by clicking here.
For questions about the program, call Commissioner Jeff Eggleston at 814-584-2203 or email him at ejeff(at)warrencountypa.gov.