The City of South Bend has secured federal funding to make improvements to sidewalks near LaSalle Intermediate Academy and Marquette Primary Montessori Academy. The project is expected to begin the week of April 1 with an anticipated completion date of mid-August.
The City has contracted with Rieth-Riley Construction Company to reconstruct approximately 2.5 miles of sidewalk and 130 Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) curb ramps near the schools. The project is estimated to cost $1.58 million. Eighty percent of the cost will be covered by the grant with local funds making up the other 20 percent.
This is the fourth year that the City has applied and received the federally funded grant through Safe Routes to School, a national program that aims to make it safer and easier for students to walk and bike to school. Previous grants have funded sidewalk and curb reconstruction near the following local schools: Coquillard Primary Center, Harrison Primary Center, Lincoln Elementary School, Monroe Elementary School, Perley Fine Arts Academy and Studebaker School.
Residents are advised to only use sidewalks that are open and to not walk through construction zones or closed sidewalk areas. Street and sidewalk closures will be posted throughout the project area.
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