Slippery Rock Township earns grant for McConnells Mill Road
Last week, Slippery Rock Township was the recipient of a grant of just under $280,000 from the Lawrence County Conservation District board of directors. This grant will go toward performing repairs on McConnells Mill Road, which goes through McConnells Mill State Park.
The section of road to be repaired will be close to the park’s historic gristmill as well as a parking lot at the park.
According to assistant park manager Brian Flores, the gist of the project will include the digging of culverts to drain water away from the road, as well as resurfacing of the section of the road near the mill.
“The culverts will transport and move water away from the road,” Flores said. “It is a benefit to the park, because it's going to help mitigate water off of the roads, because that impacts park visitors.”
“My understanding is it will improve drainage along the roadway, and they’ll maybe add some additional pipes to carry the water properly,” said park manager Dustin Drew.
Neither Flores nor Drew know of any timetable for the project as of yet.
“As far as timelines go, I don’t think any of that is set in stone yet,” Drew said. “Some of that planning is ongoing, but we’ll be working with the township to make sure they’re able to do the work. If that means a temporary road closure or something, we would let our visitors know.”
While the roadway belongs to the township and not the park, Flores believes the drainage and resurfacing improvements will be welcomed by both park guests and motorists passing through.
“It's something that's going to minimize damage to their vehicles,” Flores said. “It's just good to have proper transportation through that area.”
