More than $17.5 million in federal money is headed to Northeastern Pennsylvania for roads, railroads, bridges, sewers, police and hemp research.
The money for the community projects is in the big budget bill Congress finalized and President Biden signed over the weekend.
Congressman Matt Cartwright sponsored all but one of the projects to get them in the bill. Rep. Dan Meuser sponsored the other project. All federal community projects funding must go to government or non-profit projects.
The projects include:
- $963,000 for the Wyoming Area Regional Police Department for police cruisers, body cameras and other equipment. The 14-month-old department serves Wyoming, West Wyoming, West Pittston and Exeter boroughs and Exeter Township.
- $637,195 for Scranton for a new emergency operations and training center to house police, fire and emergency medical services personnel.
- $1,009,000 for the Monroe County District Attorney Office’s Safety First Network Project and major crimes case unit. This project will help the county emergency network shift to a digital system.
- $1.6 million to supplement a $3.7 million state capital grant to replace 42,956 railroad ties on the Pennsylvania Northeast Regional Railroad Authority Pocono mainline. The tracks are expected to become part of the planned Scranton-to-New York City passenger train route. They already carry Delaware-Lackawanna Railroad freight trains and Steamtown National Historic Site excursions.
- $980,000 to the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport for its $16 million to $17 million, 10,000-square-foot terminal expansion and other improvements.
- $980,000 to resurface state Route 209 in Hamilton Township, Monroe County. An average of 12,500 vehicles a day use the road.
- $980,000 to replace the deck on the steel-truss Route 6 bridge over the Delaware River between Matamoras Borough and Port Jervis, New York. More than 17,000 vehicles a day travel the bridge.
- $959,757 to the Lackawanna River Basin Sewer Authority to upgrade its Clinton Township, Wayne County, sewage treatment plant. The plant discharges treated sewage into the Lackawanna River.
- $959,757 to the Wyoming Valley Sanitary Authority for an interceptor pipe rehabilitation project. The pipe carries up to 70% of the sewage flow for 36 municipalities. The project aims to upgrade the combined storm water/sewage system to reduce pollution during heavy rains.
- $1 million to Brodhead Creek Regional Authority in Monroe County toward replacing a water main to improve water pressure and flow.
- $1,383,069 to Lackawanna County to upgrade Dam No. 5 to improve flood protection.
- $1 million to Lackawanna County for the the Blakely Healthy Living and Wellness Center, which will aim to keep people healthy and out of the hospital.
- $980,000 to the Downtown Hazleton Alliance for Progress to build a center for plant science innovation, including a bioscience laboratory, a rooftop greenhouse with solar panels with a business incubator that’s designed to help bioscience startup companies.
- $963,000 to Lackawanna College for hemp seed research that includes exploring the best processes and materials to make concrete and bioplastics using hemp fiber.
- $963,000 to Vytal Plant Science Research in Hazleton for a mobile STEM education lab for school districts and higher education institutions to recruit, engage and educate students in scientific fields.
The Meuser-sponsored project is $2.5 million for road reconstruction and drainage upgrades along 7.74 miles of Main Road in Hunlock and Ross townships.
Cartwright said one of his main priorities as a congressman is “to deliver federal tax dollars back to the people I serve.”
“In the three years since community project funding was introduced, I’ve successfully fought for more than $83 million … for Northeastern Pennsylvania,” Cartwright said in a statement. “These projects will make a real difference in our district by strengthening infrastructure, creating good-paying jobs, supporting public safety, and boosting economic development.”
