Inkom awarded $500,000 grant to construct sidewalks in town, ITD plans to update bridges

INKOM, Idaho (KIFI/KIDK) - There are some big plans for Inkom's infrastructure in the near future.

Recently, the town was awarded the Transportation Alternatives Program (TAP) grant. The $500,000 grant from the U.S. Federal Highway Administration will be used to help the town in building sidewalks.

Currently, there are few sidewalks that are in downtown Inkom. The money will be used to construct them alongside Holstein Street near the elementary school, down Old Highway 30, and then up to Main Street.

“We've been a small rural town for a long time and I don't think that anyone is looking to change us into anything that soon, but we want to be nice. We want to have sidewalks and planter boxes and light poles and things that are nice that we don't have now," said Inkom Mayor Max Shaffer.

The grant requires the town of Inkom to match a portion of the funds. Mayor Shaffer confirmed they will be using $38,000 from their Chandler Foundation Fund.

“I'm greatly appreciative to ITD for the time that they've put into this and being awarded this grant. It’s going to be their team that helps with the design,” said Mayor Shaffer.

The Idaho Transportation Department is helping out Inkom in more ways than one. The ITD is also restoring bridges that are above the Portneuf River.

“We are going to try to coordinate those two projects so that they mesh, the design works well and that we'll be able to save the community money by being able to utilize the same design, and they will compliment each other, although they are not in the same project,” said IDT employee Melodie Halstead.

Inkom was one of 17 towns that qualified for infrastructure assistance. There were 72 applicants in total.

The design phase is scheduled for 2021, and they plan on starting construction in 2022.