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Duquesne Council Eyes Improvements to Roads, Business District
By Cami DiBattista
The Tube City Almanac
September 15, 2017
Posted in: Duquesne News, McKeesport and Region News
Duquesne officials are looking to improve road conditions in the city --- and encourage shopping in its business district.
With the state Department of Transportation planning to repave portions of Route 837, city council on Wednesday voted to approve a maintenance reimbursement agreement to help maintain their portion of the project.
“As part of the agreement, we’re responsible for the curbs and handicapped accessibility ramps,” said Frank Piccolino, city manager.
The work, which will focus on the stretch of road from the Thompson Run Bridge in Duquesne to the Rankin Bridge in Whitaker, will cost the city around $18,000 and will result in repairs to the existing curbs and the installation of new ramps.
Construction on the project is expected to begin sometime next year.
Additionally at the meeting, the council approved two traffic signal upgrades that “tie into the overall project,” Piccolino said.
The road work will benefit residents as well as the business sector, which the city is activity working to revitalize.
In recent months, the city has partnered with the Redevelopment Authority of the City of Duquesne and the Duquesne Business Advisory Corporation to concentrate on infrastructure improvements to Grant Avenue at Route 837, also known as Duquesne Boulevard.
Economic development funds have been used to make substantial improvements to the Duquesne Plaza Shopping Center in support of the Shop Duquesne Initiative, a plan to help existing local businesses expand and attract new businesses to the area.
"For years we've been seeking to improve this key property in the city,” Duquesne Mayor Phil Krivacek said. “The new owners have made substantial improvements and are bringing in more retail stores.”
Proposed by the city, redevelopment authority and the DBAC, the program is a coordinated approach among local public bodies and retail stores to encourage shopping in Duquesne.
Additional developments in Duquesne include the development of approximately 55 acres of land, which has been purchased by Dura-Bond Industries for the construction of a pipe coating operation, city officials said.
Over 75 new jobs will be created upon completion of the facility.
(Cami DiBattista is a freelance writer. This is her first article for Tube City Almanac.)
Originally published September 15, 2017.
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