LIMA — The city of Lima has had no luck getting funding for its Elm Street railroad grade separation project in the past, but with the Ohio Department of Transportation working with the city to secure federal funding, the city hopes its luck is about to change.
ODOT District 1 Deputy Director Kirk Slusher announced Wednesday that his department would be applying for Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery funds from the U.S. Department of Transporation, the third consecutive year TIGER funds have been sought for this project.
“Each year, when we do submit, we are afforded the ability to understand how our application fared against the other projects that have been submitted,” Slusher said. “So we’re starting to get this down and I think we’ll be able to submit a very competitive project this year.”
This year, an expected $500 million will be dispersed through this fund, and in a typical year, 600 projects are submitted for funding. This project would require $14.5 million to cover construction costs.
“You can do the math and figure out that it’s very competitive,” Mayor David Berger said.
To double its chances of success, the city is also applying for $14.5 million in Fostering Advancements in Shipping and Transportation for the Long-term Achievement of National Efficiencies funds, also through the U.S. Department of Transportation.
“These are similar to TIGER,” Public Works Director Howard Elstro said. “We have two applications out there vying for funds for the completion of this project.”
Funds are typically awarded in September, but Slusher said U.S. DOT has expressed hopes to award those funds earlier.
