Oct. 12--UNION GAP, Wash. -- The city of Union Gap recently received a $700,000 grant, which will be used to install water and sewer lines in phase four of the Valley Mall Boulevard expansion project.

The Small Communities in Rural Cities grant was awarded by the Washington State Public Works Board. The grant's purpose is to stimulate the state's economy.

Of the 211 applications submitted, only 16 are receiving funding.

Four other nearby recipients include $700,000 to the city of Grandview for downtown street and streetscape improvements; $476,000 for the Port of Mattawa process water system; $290,000 to renovate the fire, police and administrative facility in Kittitas; and $550,000 to install a sewer line for vacant commercial and industrial property in Pasco.

Union Gap Mayor Jim Lemon said the grant was needed to do the necessary work. Without it, he said the city's reserve funds may have been depleted.

"That wouldn't be safe ground to be sitting on," he said. (The grant) "is something we needed to make that project happen."

The fourth phase of the Valley Mall Boulevard project -- estimated to cost $4.1 million -- calls for improving and widening Main Street from about South Rudkin Road west through the Main Street intersection. Water and sewer lines will also be added along the roads.

The city has secured all the money needed for the project through state funding sources.

To minimize adverse effects on motorists and businesses, Union Gap will align construction with a related project headed by the state Department of Transportation. That project calls for rebuilding the interchange at Interstate 82 and Valley Mall Boulevard.

The new, $39 million interchange will feature three consecutive roundabouts to replace traffic signals -- thereby improving traffic flow through the interchange at I-82 and the boulevard.

Bids are expected to go out in November and will be awarded by early next year. Construction for both projects is slated to begin next spring.

--Erin Snelgrove can be reached at 509-577-7684 or at esnelgrove@yakimaherald.com.

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