Gov. Justice awards $500,000 grant to Town of Rainelle for major streetscape improvement project

Statement

In celebration of yet another day of betterment in southern West Virginia, Gov. Jim Justice joined local leaders for an event today to award a $500,000 Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Program grant to the Town of Rainelle that will pay for a major streetscape enhancement project on Main Street.

"I love Rainelle beyond good sense and I'm so excited to be here today to announce this grant," Gov. Justice said. "We've given out a bunch of these grants over the last week, but this one today is one of the biggest and we're bringing it to Rainelle. It's really good stuff."

West Virginia Transportation Alternatives and Recreational Trails Program (TARTP) grants help towns and cities build and improve sidewalks, lighting, trails, and more. The program is administered by the West Virginia Department of Transportation and funded by the Federal Highway Administration.

"This latest round of grants came in just a week ago today," Gov. Justice said. "We decided that we needed to get them out the door and to the people right away."

"Thank you, Governor Justice, for coming here today to Rainelle," said former mayor Andrea "Andy" Pendleton. "You have been the powerhouse of West Virginia. You have been the best that we could ever ask for. Governor Justice, we love you so much."

"This grant is the result of a lot of hard work by so many great people with grit and determination and persistence," Gov. Justice said. "It's the same hard work that enabled the town to receive a major grant from FEMA as well."

The Governor also announced that the Town of Rainelle has been awarded a separate federal grant, worth $277,716 from the FEMA Hazard Mitigation program, to fund the purchase and installation of three generators in the Town of Rainelle; one at the water plant, one at the substation, and one at the town hall / police department building.

"I could not be happier for all the goodness that's going on in Rainelle and all over West Virginia right now," Gov. Justice said.

In the past week alone, Gov. Justice has awarded 47 TARTP grants, worth a combined total of over $8.6 million, for similar improvement projects all across West Virginia.

The TARTP grants are going to projects in 29 counties in several regions across the state, including:
North Central West Virginia: $3.0 million for 15 projects
Eastern Panhandle: $2.3 million for seven projects
Metro Valley: $1.6 million for 12 projects
Northern Panhandle: $454,000 for four projects
Southern Coalfields: $389,000 for five projects
Wood County: $300,000 for three projects

Earlier this year, Gov. Justice presented another round of 38 TARTP grants, worth over $7.4 million, for additional projects in 27 counties.

In total, Gov. Justice has awarded over $16 million TARTP grants this year alone to communities all across West Virginia.

"These kind of improvements are what increase tourism and give our local economies all over the state a boost," Gov. Justice said. "It's a great thing for our communities and it just makes things better and better for West Virginia."

Details on the project awarded today are as follows:

GREENBRIER COUNTY
Town of Rainelle
$500,000
Rainelle Main Street Streetscape Project Phase 2: Design and construction of sidewalk replacement in downtown Rainelle.

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