Posted Friday, May 14, 2010 --- 12:50 p.m.

Press Release from the City of Madison:

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz joined Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin, County Executive Kathleen Falk and Village of Shorewood Hills Administrator Karl Frantz today to mark major projects funded by the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA). Major reconstruction on University Avenue, which will be completed this summer, was funded with $3.4 million from ARRA, along with a local match from the City of Madison, the Village of Shorewood Hills and Dane County.

So far, the City of Madison has received a total of $36.9 million in approved ARRA funding.

“I want to thank Tammy Baldwin for her outstanding leadership in fighting for stimulus funding and for important projects here in Madison,” Mayor Cieslewicz said. “Thanks to ARRA funding, we will complete important projects like University Avenue and put people back to work in our community.”

The city estimates this project will create 54 jobs. Along with this section of University Avenue, the city will reconstruct Pleasant View Road, creating an estimated 174 jobs and will soon complete the Aberg Avenue pedestrian and bicycle bridge, which created 34 jobs.

“We are very fortunate to have a mayor, a county executive, and hard working people in city, county, state, and federal government who are using every tool available to create jobs and build our economy. Our recovery plan is working, but I won’t be satisfied until every Wisconsinite who wants a job, has one!,” Congresswoman Baldwin said.

“University Avenue is a really important county highway and helps 55,000 people get to and from work and other destinations every day,” Falk said. “That’s why we made improving this road with these stimulus dollars a priority.” Falk noted the county to date has secured around $25-million in stimulus funding for everything from safety improvements at the airport to exploring the potential of converting waste food into millions of dollars worth of electricity.

"University Avenue has been in great need of resurfacing and intersection improvements, and the Hilldale area in need of additional storm water management capacity,” Alder Chris Schmidt said. “My constituents and I are happy to see this stimulus-funded project move forward and the improvements that it will bring."

In addition to road and bike construction projects, the city’s $36.9 million in ARRA funding will make a wide range of city project possible, such as:

- 14 new hybrid busses
- Grants for weatherization of residential homes for low income families
- Energy efficiency retrofits for small businesses
- Green job training
- Expansion of Public Health immunization services
- Homeless prevention and rapid re-housing program through Community Development
- Capital improvements to public housing properties

The city is also working on several pending competitive applications for police funding, water main replacements and storm water improvements.