By Kevin Sabo For the Advance
Castor is continuing its efforts to improve the downtown, this time courtesy of a grant from the federal government.
The Gas Tax Fund is an ongoing federal grant that was put in place to help communities maintain and improve infrastructure. Castor has received the grant for the last several years and has opted to replace the downtown sidewalks.
“We can’t use the money for piecework repair. We have to use it to redo a whole block at a time,” said Chief Administrative Officer Sandi Jackson. “Council decided to focus on downtown, so we won’t have to again for 20 to 30 years down the road.”
The amount from the grant that Castor receives is about $50,000, with each block of sidewalk laid using almost the full amount each year. Due to the structure of the grant, the town is required to use it on a major infrastructure project, such as the sidewalks, and can’t break it up to use on smaller projects or repairs.
This year the block of sidewalk running from the town office down to the ATB has been selected for the overhaul, with construction happening the week of July 3.
The town’s plan for this funding is to keep working on the downtown sidewalks a block a year as long as it remains in place.