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<p>The state will provide more than $3.3 million in funding for local infrastructure and public park improvement projects.</p><p>Area lawmakers Tuesday announced the awards through the Multimodal Transportation Fund and the Act 13 or natural gas impact fee programs.</p><p>The largest award, a $2 million Multimodal Transportation Fund grant, will be used for the construction of access roads to approximately 400 acres of formerly mine-scarred land reclaimed by Earth Conservancy for the South Valley Parkway.</p><p>The parkway, estimated to cost $83 million, is designed to alleviate congestion and improve safety on a 2-mile stretch of Middle Road. The project includes six roundabouts in Hanover Township and Nanticoke, plus a beltway connecting Route 29 and Interstate 81 with Kosciuszko Street near Luzerne County Community College.</p><p>State Sen. John Yudichak, D-Plymouth Township, said the Earth Conservancy properties can be put to use for additional economic development and conservation projects.</p><p>&#8220;Strategic public investments in infrastructure like the South Valley Parkway and its access points have already leveraged over $100 million in private investment, from companies like Northpoint, that will lead to the creation of thousands of jobs in the South Valley and along the I-81 corridor,&#8221; Yudichak said in a statement.</p><p>Earth Conservancy&#8217;s president and CEO, Mike Dziak, thanked Yudichak and state Rep. Gerald Mullery, D-Newport Township, and the Commonwealth Financing Authority for their help with the funding.</p><p>&#8221;We appreciate how they see the importance of our work and back our efforts to bring environmental and economic revitalization to the communities we serve,&#8221; Dziak said in a statement.</p><p>Mullery added:&#8220;Earth Conservancy has been the leader in improving mine- scarred lands and turning them into economic development opportunities across the region.&#8221;</p><p>Other Multimodal Transportation Fund grant awards:</p><p>&#8226; $503,288 to Wilkes University for pedestrian safety and streetscape improvements along Northampton Street in Edwardsville.</p><p>&#8226; $167,995 for intersection improvements at Eighth Street and Susquehanna Avenue in Wyoming.</p><p>The Act 13 funded projects:</p><p>&#8226; $299,999 to replace a section of the retaining wall along Solomon Creek in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>&#8226; $75,000 for improvements to Weissman Park in Wilkes-Barre.</p><p>&#8226; $25,000 for Phase II improvements at Baltimore Avenue Park in West Pittston.</p><p>&#8226; $155,355 for improvements at Romanoskey Park in Larksville.</p><p>&#8226; $165,000 for improvements at Hazle Township Community Park in Hazle Township.</p><p>State Reps. Eddie Day Pashinski, D-Wilkes-Barre, and Aaron Kaufer, R-Kingston, also helped to secure the funding.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Yudichak </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/web1_Yudichak_John_2013_toned-1.jpg</photo0><caption0>Yudichak </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Jerry Lynott</p><p>jlynott@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Jerry Lynott at 570-991-6120 or on Twitter @TLJerryLynott.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Over $3M in state grants awarded for area infrastructure and park projects