State approves $485,000 grant for downtown upgrades in Export
Export officials didn’t get the $1.95 million they were hoping for, but a state grant for about $485,000 will go a long way toward realizing a project to unify its downtown features and establish a central community space.
The original concept plan, dubbed “Heritage Square” in 2021, used newly designed crosswalks, sidewalks, bike lanes and parking areas to better define all modes of traffic. It included a Westmoreland Heritage Trail landing on Lincoln Avenue, bicycle racks, sidewalks from the borough war memorial to Washington Avenue and new sidewalks around the replica train station downtown.
It also included the paving of the borough’s parking lot, which had to be removed from the original grant application, bringing the overall project’s cost down from an estimated $2.6 million.
Borough council members will set a public workshop date to revisit the plan and determine how to proceed with the grant funding in hand.
The borough had been approved for a grant of just more than $94,000 to go toward the purchase of a new public works truck, Mayor Joe Zaccagnini said.
“We initially put in for a 2023 Ford F-600, but we’ve been told that, now, it’s too late to get one,” Zaccagnini said. “We’ve got to wait until they start taking orders for 2024 trucks in a few months.”
Upcoming events
• Export resident and coal-mining historian Michael Mance will give a presentation, “Remember When Coal Was King and Coke Was Queen,” April 16 at the Greensburg Country Club, 309 Pleasant Valley Road in Hempfield. The narrated photo presentation will discuss the Boxcartown neighborhood and mining operations in Export and Greensburg and across the country.
The event begins at 12:30 p.m. Tickets are $38 for adults and $18 for children 12 and younger, and include brunch.
Registration and payment are required in advance by calling 724-836-1800, ext. 210.
• The Export Historical Society will host a spaghetti dinner fundraiser April 16 at the Export Moose, 5903 Washington Ave., from noon to 6 p.m. It will be headed by former Spaghetti & Steak House owner Monica Meehan.
All proceeds will benefit the historical society.
The cost is $12 for adults and $6 for children age 10 and younger. For more, see ExportHistoricalSociety.org.
Patrick Varine is a TribLive reporter covering Delmont, Export and Murrysville. He is a Western Pennsylvania native and joined the Trib in 2010 after working as a reporter and editor with the former Dover Post Co. in Delaware. He can be reached at pvarine@triblive.com.
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