Thursday, August 21, 2008
A technology park and a highway are getting a boost.
STAFF REPORT
NEW CASTLE, Pa. — Lawrence County received $1.25 million for two projects meant to bring in businesses and jobs.
U.S. Rep. Jason Altmire, D-4th, delivered the money, which he secured in the final budget passed by Congress in December, to county commissioners Wednesday at Steelite International.
Steelite, a company that distributes plates and stemware for restaurants and hotel chains, is the lone business in Millennium Park off Pulaski Road.
The money includes $500,000 for the park, which will be used to develop sewers on 100 acres of the 500-acre development, said Linda Nitch of the Lawrence County Economic Development Corp.
The park, which except for 88 acres is owned by the LCEDC, was established in 2001 for high-technology businesses, Nitch said. She said it is also attractive to warehousing and distribution companies because of its proximity to highways.
The rest of the money, $750,000, will be used to widen a portion of Pa. Route 60 near the intersection with U.S. Route 422 in Union Township. That will help upgrade the road to Federal Highway Administration standards, which must be done before the future Interstate 376 corridor can become a reality, said Dan Vogler, county commissioner.
The corridor plan is to designate the entire road, which begins as I-376 in Monroeville, as I-376. The road becomes other routes until it eventually becomes Route 60 up to Interstate 80.
Altmire said he believes the county is “perfectly positioned for growth.”
He said he is not part of a push to stop the new corridor at the Beaver-Lawrence county line.
“I’m on the highways subcommittee and this is my priority,” he said. “That stretch in Lawrence County has to be part of that project.”
Vogler said he appreciated Altmire’s remark. “We need 376 all the way to 80,” Vogler said. The project is expected to be finished by 2010.