Searcy receiving $4 million+ federal grant to fund greenway project and more
SEARCY, Ark. – Searcy will be getting more than $4 million as part of a federal grant providing a pathway to connect the city and people who love being outdoors.
The $4.2 million is a portion of $40 million in federal infrastructure grants that is being spread among other places in Arkansas as part of the RAISE grant program.
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City officials said this grant is the largest federal grant Searcy has ever received and it’s going to their greenway project.
Around Berryhill Park in Searcy, people can be seen out and about, as well as kids like Zemaikia Johnson on their bikes,
“I love riding my bike and I just want to do it every day,” Johnson said.
They’re taking advantage of the cooler day, the park and the bike path connected to it. The current bike path is around five miles long but the grant money will be used to expand it.
City planner Richard Stafford said this grant is a planning grant, so the city can do the design survey work and more to create a 21-mile bike trail and pathway.
“So the biggest point with this, is to create this transportation system and connect all of the major intersection points in town,” Stafford said.
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Mayor Matt Faulkner said the plan goes right along with the city’s master plan, noting that trails and bike paths were something locals were asking for.
“This RAISE grant allows us to address some areas of persistent poverty throughout the community individuals and families who may not have a vehicle as a transportation option that’s going to allow them to connect to either our school system or places to work and shop,” Faulkner said.
But not only will you be able to get from places like Harding University to downtown, but also a connection to another town.
“We will have a spur as part of the network that reaches into Kensett so it’ll allow their citizens to come to Searcy and also access the Riverview school system,” Faulkner said.
City officials said every effort is part of a plan to create safer and more accessible routes across the city, so that people like Johnson and his mom, Marishia, can keep pedaling forward.
“Whenever they do expand and they’ll kind of be more for us to do,” Marisha Johnson said.
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Officials said the planning portion should be completed in about a year. The next step would be to apply for the capital grant, that would fund the construction of the project itself.
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