By RICK MILLER
Olean Star
OLEAN — The City of Olean is going to get another chance for $25 million in no-match federal funding to rebuild West State Street.
The Common Council unanimously approved a resolution to submit an application to the U.S. Department of Transportation for a Rebuilding American Infrastructure with Sustainability and Equity (RAISE) discretionary grant.
Connecting Communities: A Multi-Modal Vision for West State Street, could eventually provide up to $30.6 million for West State Street between Union Street and St. Bonaventure University, said Community Development Director Keri Kerper.
That would include infrastructure like water and sewer line replacement and a 10 percent contingency fund.
Alderman David Anastasia, D-Ward 7, said he was “almost afraid to vote for it.” He said Kerper’s track record of getting infrastructure grants was very good and he didn’t want a repeat of East State Street.
“I think East State Street is a disaster with those roundabouts,” Anastasia said. “I hope there are not nine more roundabouts between here and Constitution Avenue. We have to make Olean driveable again.”
Council President John Crawford, D-Ward 6, said he thought there were three or four roundabouts planned for the West State Street project, but Kerper said there were more. She did not have the exact number, but promised to get that information to aldermen.
Alderwoman Sonya McCall, D-Ward 4, said the city could not afford the infrastructure upgrades that accompany the road project grants. She thought previous estimates for the city to replace the aging infrastructure were in the $22 million range.
There is “a great need to update our infrastructure,” McCall said. With this West State Street project, it can be done “at minimal cost” to the city. She is chairman of the Council’s Finance Committee.
While the city did not make the previous round of funding under RAISE, a $1.5 billion discretionary grant program was recently published by USDOT. The resolution authorizes Mayor Bill Aiello to sign the application.
West State Street has not been rebuilt since its construction in 1896 and has a fair rating under USDOT standards. The project was previously cited as a project of merit, so additional engineering or revising the application is not necessary.
Meanwhile, construction continues on the $3 million East State Street portion of Walkable Olean III. Crews from Millennium Construction were pouring concrete and working on the median and landscaping.
There were some complaints about benches facing peoples’ homes, but it appears it would be difficult to move them without costly change orders, according to the mayor.
