Johnsonburg Borough now has the funding to complete a much-needed road project in the Harrison Avenue area.

On Wednesday, state Rep. Matt Gabler, R-DuBois, announced that Johnsonburg Borough will receive a $656,000 grant through the Multimodal Transportation Fund Program.

“When the weather forecast calls for heavy rain, one of the big concerns in Johnsonburg is possible flooding caused by the river and whether or not it will further impact the already-eroded retaining wall near Harrison Avenue,” said Gabler. “This grant will allow borough officials to address the problem by making improvements to the area between Grant Street and Terra Cotta Avenue.”

Ryan Miller of ARS Engineering Services, the borough’s engineering consultant, provided some background on the issue.

He said that during spring storms a few years ago, Elk County including Johnsonburg, Ridgway and St. Marys, experienced flooding.

Where Harrison Avenue sits on the Johnsonburg bypass at the Grant Street intersection, above the Genesee Wyoming Railroad line, “runoff came down the hill and caused a small landslide along the edge of the road in one area.

“Once that erosion happened due to the runoff, the hillside kept falling back toward the roadway,” he said. It “caused the shoulder to eventually fall down the hill.”

Miller added that they have since limited the road to one lane of traffic and have been monitoring the situation.

At that time, borough officials looked for help from the engineering firm they had then to find an immediate fix. However, the fix was “beyond the financial capabilities” of the borough, he said.

Unfortunately, Harrison Avenue is basically the only way for residents who live on Terra Cotta Avenue and Glen Mayo Road to get to their homes.

“We needed to try to figure out a way to do something,” Miller said, explaining they could not allow the road to continue to fall off.

“What we did was, we looked at shifting the roadway up there,” he said, explained, “The project itself will basically shift the roadway to the west approximately 20-25 feet. It will allow us to come back in and regrade that hillside so it’s not so steep.”

He said the change should eliminate issues with erosion and landslides.

Miller said the borough purchased three homes that were eventually torn down, and the ground was leveled to the existing road and stoned. That can be used as an emergency road until funds were obtained to relocate the road.

“The borough has been attempting to raise funds over the last several years. Without this grant, it would have taken a lot longer,” said Miller, who noted the borough has already spent over $100,000 acquiring properties, demolishing the structures on them, and grading and putting stones down.

“Borough officials were ecstatic when we called to tell them the grant application was accepted,” added Gabler. “It is very gratifying to be the bearer of good news, especially on a project like this.”

Gabler said the grant will fund the following: realignment of the roadway west of Harrison Avenue away from the existing embankment; construction of new lanes, shoulders and guide rail; paving and reconnection to the existing sewer line, excavation and regrading of the eastern embankment to reduce the slope and installation of a new retaining wall on the western side of the road.

Miller said the borough is fortunate that legislation was written that eliminated a required local match for the grant.

They were able to ask for a larger sum of money because they did not have to provide a 30-percent match, he said.

Miller said no timeline for the project is in place, as borough officials only learned Tuesday they will receive the grant, and they don’t know when they will be awarded the funding. He anticipates construction beginning in 2020 but can’t say for sure.

Once they know when funding will be awarded, they can call for bids.

In the meantime, “We’ll be able to proceed with final design and get everything lined up and ready to go,” he said.

Miller noted that both Gabler and state Senate President Pro Tempore Joe Scarnati, R-Brockway, supported the project, pushing state officials to help. The funding is coming from the Commonwealth Financing Authority.

Miller said residents of Terra Cotta Avenue and Glen Mayo Road are eager to have the project completed, as they rely on the one-lane road to get home. He said the grant funding “should be reassurance to them that the borough is following through” with the project.

“It’ll be refreshing to have the money to go ahead and complete the job,” said Miller. “Everybody will have a really nice roadway they’ll be able to utilize through that area.”

He said borough officials will do their best to keep the public informed of the project at the monthly borough council meetings.