By BECKY KISER
Hays Post

The U.S. Department of Transportation recently reviewed 851 applications for requested funding of more than $10 billion through Better Utilizing Investments to Leverage Development (BUILD) Transportation Grants.

Just 91 awards were made; the city of Hays was one of those.

“This is a pretty significant thing for the city of Hays,” Assistant City Manager Jacob Wood said during Thursday night’s city commission meeting.

The BUILD grant used to be called the TIGER grant. Wood noted the federal program also shifted parameters, which likely became an advantage for Hays.

“One of their focuses was on rural America,” Wood explained. “We were really able to piggyback on that new focus and get in there with this project.

“It’s a pretty good thing for the city of Hays.”

The $6,057,827 grant will be used for the Vine Street Corridor Project, which was estimated at $7.6 million this summer.

The project will reconstruct a half-mile segment of north Vine Street near Interstate 70, including three new two-lane roundabouts, access-controlled intersections at the on/off ramps at I-70, bicycle lanes, and upgraded pedestrian crossings.

Project design started several months ago.