Last modified: Thursday, December 28, 2006 2:18 PM PST ITD project slated for New Plymouth Jennifer Colton Argus Observer New Plymouth Plymouth Avenue, part of U.S. Highway 30 in New Plymouth, needs some repair work. Curbs are crumbling. Sidewalks are cracked. Much of the concrete must be replaced. A new project framed by the Idaho Transportation Department and New Plymouth city officials will tackle a number of lingering problems along the roadway. The project, dubbed the Highway 30 Enhancement Project, will focus on replacing curb, gutter, sidewalk and lighting along U.S. Highway 30, in addition to a “patchback” strip of new pavement where the road is damaged during construction. Most of the project will be funded through grants from ITD. “We got the approval from ITD for a grant for just under $500,000,” New Plymouth City Clerk Angela P’Pool said. “Our match was around $49,000, and that was a 10 percent match.” The city’s portion of the project has now risen to $123,000, but that will include the light poles and colored stamp design selected by the City Council. “Because of the cost of concrete, asphalt going up, we’re probably just going to get from Elm to Maple (in phase one of the street project),” P’Pool said. The city would like to thank everyone who wrote letters in support of the application, New Plymouth Public Works Superintendent Beau Ziemer said. Having support from affected businesses helped the city receive the ITD grant. Phase one of the project — originally slated to cover from Elm to Canal streets — will probably be split into phase one A, from Elm to Maple, and phase one B, from Maple through Canal, P’Pool said. City crews will try to maintain as much of the current concrete as possible in order to encompass more space in the project. “I’m not sure what the money is going to cover,” P’Pool said. The first section, phase one A, will be completed in 2008. The second phase of the project will cover from Elm Street out to the city limit, and the third phase should span from Canal Street west to the city limit. “We’ve only been approved for that first half,” P’Pool said. “Then every year we can apply for more.” The enhancement project was scheduled for 2008 to coincide with a project sponsored by ITD to repave U.S. Highway 30, but the paving project for the New Plymouth stretch of road was pushed back until 2010 and might have fallen off the government radar indefinitely, Ziemer said. “A lot of our projects have been put on hold because of funding,” ITD Public Affairs Representative Adam Rush said. “It makes me believe (the U.S. Highway 30 paving project) was a proposal once and has now been put on hold.” The city has already received the first grant and will continue with phase one of the project. “We’re hoping that it looks good,” P’Pool said.