Hickory City Council approves $17M federal grant agreement

HICKORY, NC (October 9, 2019) — In a special called meeting on Wednesday, October 9, Hickory City Council approved a grant agreement with the United States Department of Transportation (USDOT) and Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) for the 2018 Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Discretionary Grant Award.

In 2018, the City of Hickory applied for and was awarded a $17.092 million BUILD grant for its “Hickory Reconnected through Transportation Infrastructure Investment” project, which includes a 1.7-mile bicycle and pedestrian trail and a bridge over U.S. 321, and a 0.9 mile complete streetscape loop in Downtown Hickory.

“The project funded by the BUILD grant is an extension of Hickory’s current bond program to activate various parts of the City through multi-modal path interconnection,” said Hickory City Manager Warren Wood. “This new project connects the City Walk to the Old Lenoir Road streetscape, and complements the City’s Riverwalk by providing a vital link across U.S. 321 to L.P. Frans Stadium, home of the Hickory Crawdads, and the Hickory Regional Airport.”

The grant agreement was drafted by City, state and federal staff to define project goals, establish a mandatory timeline for the project, and set benchmark and reporting requirements for project tracking. Per the agreement, the City will work directly with the North Carolina Department of Transportation (NCDOT) to ensure that tracking and reimbursement requirements are achieved for the federal grant. The total grant agreement is for $17,092,608 from USDOT-FHWA, with the City committing to spend at least $4,673,152, for a minimum project value of $21,765,760.

During the special meeting, Hickory City Council also approved a $1.927 million contract with TGS Engineers for planning, permitting, routing, design, and estimating of the “Hickory Reconnected through Transportation Infrastructure Investment” project. This will include delivering to the City a project ready for construction authorization from USDOT-FHWA by September 2020.

For more information about the 2018 BUILD Transportation Grant program, please visit https://www.transportation.gov/BUILDgrants. For more information about the City’s Crafting Hickory projects, please visit https://www.CraftingHickory.com.