Puxico gets $300K grant to pave streets

PUXICO — The City of Puxico will be getting a much needed facelift next spring, thanks to a pair of grants from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Rural Development division.

The largest grant, at $300,000, will pay for a 2-inch thick overlay of asphalt on about 10 miles of city streets, according to city clerk Alice Patrick.

The city also will pitch in $100,000 of its own funds for the overlay project.

The city’s streets, Patrick said, have been deteriorating significantly because of heavy rains, and the annual budget cannot provide the necessary funding to fix every one.

“It’s always been an ongoing problem for us because in our street fund we only have so much money. It’s normally about $20,000 a year we can spend on repairing streets,” Patrick explained. That amount of money “used to go quite a ways, but now it may do two or three blocks.”

City officials developed a list of streets needing repair and applied for the Rural Development Community Facilities Grant, which was awarded late last week.

“We chose our worst streets, and most used streets, and we’re going to do a 2-inch overlay,” Patrick noted.

The list of streets to be overlayed, Patrick said, includes “part of this street, part of another street. The list includes parts of about 15 streets.”

Because it is so late in the year, the project is being delayed until next spring, Patrick said.

“Right now, it’s on hold until next spring because it’s getting a little too late in the year to do asphalt,” she said.

In the meantime, Patrick said, the cost of asphalt fluctuates, so city engineers continue to look at the project to determine just how many roads on the original list will be able to be overlayed, once the work can begin.

“Well maintained streets are necessary for rural citizens, first responders and ag commodities to move safely and efficiently, ensuring our rural economies thrive,” said USDA Rural Development State Director Jeff Case in a news release. “USDA has been working tirelessly to be a strong partner to rural communities, like Puxico, in building stronger and healthier communities because we know when rural America thrives, all of America thrives.”

The second Rural Development grant in Puxico will fund the construction of a new pavilion for the city’s farmer’s market.

That grant, Patrick said, is for $21,500.

“We’re building a pavilion down in our south park for the farmer’s market people to set up,” she said. “They will build a concrete base and build a pavilion type cover, so farmer’s market people have a cover over them.”

Just as with the street overlay project, the pavilion work will be delayed until the spring.

“We hoped to get that one done this fall, but the farmer’s market ends soon,” Patrick said.