Kelly seeks $18M for Butler County
A $7 million replacement of the Karns Crossing Bridge in Butler and Summit townships is part of U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly’s requests for federal funding for local projects in next year’s budget.
In sum, Kelly, R-16th, seeks more than $45 million from the Community Project Funding program, which was launched alongside the 2022 federal budget after a decade-long ban on earmarks. Nearly $18 million in projects for which Kelly requested funds are in Butler County.
Kelly’s $45 million in requests follows the more than $8.5 million he sought in the 2022 budget. He ultimately voted against the bill, which included funds for those requests.
Many of the projects involve the repair of roads and bridges.
The largest project for which Kelly seeks funds is the replacement of a bridge carrying Route 68 over Connoquenessing Creek and multiple railroad tracks, just south of Route 422, in Butler and Summit townships.
Karns Crossing received a “poor” grade in a 2021 inspection, as the Eagle reported following a bridge collapse in Pittsburgh. More than 11,000 vehicles cross the 868-foot bridge daily, according to PennDOT.
Additionally, Kelly wants to bring $2.5 million to the region to improve Route 422 between Duffy and Whipporwill roads. That project would include resurfacing and other roadway improvements, upgrades to drainage and guardrails, the replacement of a median barrier and “miscellaneous construction.”
Finally, Kelly seeks another $1.7 million to improve Route 68 between Stevenson and Meridian roads. The Route 68 improvement would include signal replacements, installation of turning lanes and “corridor improvements.”
Kelly’s requests for funding also include a $1.5 million request for Harmony Fire District’s new fire station in Zelienople, as well as a $5 million request for increasing capacity to the Brush Creek Water Pollution Control Facility which helps Cranberry Township’s sewage.
