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Politics & Government

Northfield to Apply for Federal Money for Underpass

If approved, proceeds from the federal TIGER grant will help pay for pedestrian walkway under Highway 3 near Greenvale Avenue.

When it comes to federal funding, the is counting on smaller being better.

The council voted at its Sept. 20 meeting to seek federal help to build a pedestrian underpass beneath Highway 3 near Greenvale Avenue. Estimated cost of that project is $1.05 million.

Before the meeting, the council was expected to apply for federal TIGER grant dollars for two projects: the Highway 3 underpass and a $1.7 million pedestrian overpass over Highway 19 at .

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But, that course was altered following a discussion led by City Administrator Tim Madigan and Councilor Erica Zweifel, who said the city may fare better in the grant dispersement process if it applied for less money and offered to contribute matching funds toward the project.

“This is to make the city more competitive,” Madigan said.

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TIGER grants are handed out by the U.S. Department of Transportation for infrastructure projects.

Although the federal government does not require local governments to provide matching funding, Zweifel said previous grants were awarded to projects with local financial support.

In the case of the Highway 3 underpass, Northfield would need to come up with more than $500,000 if the city receives a grant. One potential source of local dollars would be proceeds from the city’s downtown tax-increment financing (TIF) district.

The source of the city’s match does not need to be identified on the TIGER grant pre-application, which is due Oct. 3. 

While councilors said both the underpass and the Malt-O-Meal overpass projects are vital projects for the city, they agreed to move ahead with the underpass because it provides more bang for the money. If built, the underpass would provide a safe pedestrian path between downtown and the northern section of the city, including Greenvale Park Elementary School.

Madigan said Malt-O-Meal was interested in help paying for the Highway 19 overpass, but specifics on the size of a possible contribution could not be worked out before the pre-application deadline.

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