Benninghoff Announces Grant Awards for Centre, Mifflin Counties

November 19, 2021

BELLEFONTE – Rep. Kerry Benninghoff (R-Centre/Mifflin) announced today that communities across the 171st Legislative District will be receiving grant funding to help cover the cost of critical roadway, recreation and Main Street improvement projects to improve safety and encourage economic growth in Centre and Mifflin counties.

“I am pleased to bring your tax dollars back to our local community where they can be used to offset the cost of key projects that improve the lives of residents,” Benninghoff said. “I will continue to advocate for important projects in our district, especially those that enhance safety and keep Centre and Mifflin counties great places to live, work and raise a family.”

Centre County grant recipients:
Centre Hall Borough and Potter Township: 
Penns Prairie at Tri Municipal Park, $218,000, Act 13-Funded Project
Grant funding will be used to enhance pedestrian safety improvements along South Pennsylvania Avenue (State Route 144). The improvements will include installing 415 feet of new wall to replace the deteriorating wall that causes stones to fall in the roadway, rehabilitating existing sidewalks and installing new sidewalks including ADA improvements with detectable warnings. This project will create a safe passageway for pedestrians to travel from the Centre Hall Borough business district to the Centre County Grange Park in Potter Township. 

Penn Township
Road Improvement Project, $500,000, Multimodal Transportation Fund Project
This grant will give Penn Township the ability to greatly improve several roadways that need widened and repaved. These repairs will enhance safety for all modes of road transportation, including school buses, farmers, bikers and pedestrians. The improvements will also enhance opportunities for the growth of agricultural and commercial development, which has been limited to the extent of the current condition of narrow and deteriorating roadways. 

Gregg Township
Gregg Township Multimodal Improvements, $500,000, Multimodal Transportation Fund Project
The project will consist of rebuilding a portion of Middle Road (T-423) and Bitner Hollow Road to include a solid, stable base via full-depth reclamation that will provide a better driving/riding surface with less deficiencies; increased drainage, with replacement of undersized culvert pipes and the addition of more agri-flow pipes to allow water to pass under the roadway without causing damage to the road; and widening of the narrow portions of the cart ways to allow for safer two-way traffic. These improvements will create a safer use of the road by all modes of transportation.

Mifflin County grant recipient:
Brown Township
Brown Township Reedsville Main Street Streetscape Additional Lighting Project, $100,000, Multimodal Transportation Fund Project 
Grant funding will be used to supplement existing funding already in place to pay for additional decorative light standards and related components to improve Main Street.