Also means repaving of South Third Street

WASHINGTON, D.C. – On Tuesday, U.S. Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio) announced that Ironton has been awarded $2 million in grant money to improve the area around the city’s main industrial area, the South Ironton Industrial Park.

The funds come from the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration and will go towards necessary roadway and water infrastructure upgrades to help attract new businesses. The funds were made possible through the EDA’s $300 million Coal Communities Commitment, which was included in the American Rescue Plan Act, legislation that Brown helped write and pass.

“Ohio’s communities and families face a heavy burden when trying to pay for upgrades to local infrastructure,” said Brown. “Thanks to the American Rescue Plan, these funds will help Ironton provide residents with improved road and water infrastructure while creating jobs and attracting new investment to the community.”

Ironton mayor Sam Cramblit said he was really excited by the news and grateful to get the funds.

“We have been working on this for about two years, on the application and with the agency, and now we will be able to complete the project,” he said.

One note is that the grant money will go towards the repaving of South Third Street.

“Orignally, we had obtained some money that would allow us to do some of the paving, which was around $600-700,000. With the EDA grant, we are able to do the whole project, which is roughly around $2.7 million and includes replacing some water lines and some storm lines, which caused the problem in the first place.”

Cramblit said if the city hadn’t gotten the grant, it would have had to take out millions of dollars in loans.

“We are grateful to all those that worked on this and those in the federal government for the grant,” he said.

This EDA investment will be matched with $734,374 in local funds and is expected to create 360 jobs, retain 30 jobs and generate $22 million in private investment, according to grantee estimates.