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Janesville gets $1 million in stimulus funding

JANESVILLE — Janesville will receive an additional $1 million in federal stimulus dollars to repair streets, bringing the city's total stimulus money to more than $4 million.

Milton will receive $500,000, which will be used to rehabilitate High Street between Janesville Street and John Paul Road.

The Wisconsin Joint Committee on Finance approved funding for additional transportation projects to be funded through the American Reinvestment and Recovery Act, according to a city news release.

Low construction bids during the two previous rounds of work statewide made an additional $56 million available.

Gov. Jim Doyle distributed the funding to economically distressed counties, including Rock County, according to the release. Other projects receiving funding are in Rock Township and Milton.

Janesville will spend the money on two road projects in 2010:

-- Reconditioning Ruger Avenue between Interstate 90/39 and North Wright Road, $620,000. The work will be performed at the same time as the replacement of the Spring Brook Bridge.

-- Resurfacing Randall Avenue from St. Lawrence to Tyler Street, including a small portion of Tyler Street from Randall Avenue to South Fremont Street, $415,000.

In previous transportation funding rounds, Janesville received $1.5 million to resurface five roads; $1.6 million for transit capital projects; and $435,000 for a bicycle/pedestrian trail.

With the addition of the Ruger Avenue and Randall Avenue projects, total stimulus funding for Janesville infrastructure now exceeds $4 million, according to the release.

The money will pay for road projects in the city's five-year plan. The work on Ruger and Randall avenues was not originally scheduled to be done next year, Terry Nolan, associate planner, said.

In Milton, construction was scheduled "a ways out" because of the substantial cost, and the stimulus money has bumped it up, said Nancy Zastrow, Milton's clerk/treasurer.

Work will begin next year.

Milton had received no prior stimulus funding.

"We didn't get anything the first round, so we're very excited," Zastrow said.