Senator Bob Casey secures funding for community projects in Lehigh Valley and Berks County

Senator Bob Casey, through letters to subcommittee members, secured $81.6 million for community projects across the state, including several in Lehigh Valley and Berks County. 

“I am pleased to announce that I have secured critical funding for projects across Pennsylvania, including investments in infrastructure, workforce development programs, protections for natural resources, funding for childhood education and development, community health initiatives and more,” said Casey.  

“These projects will revitalize communities across the Commonwealth and support the economic health of both rural and urban areas. I will continue to advocate for resources to come to the Lehigh Valley and advance measures to lower costs for families.” 

Letters were submitted to the Transportation, Housing and Urban Development; Labor, Health and Human Services, Education; and Financial Services and General Government subcommittees, Casey’s office said. 

Among the projects, the City of Bethlehem will receive $2,900,000 to support a food cooperative initiative in the City of Bethlehem, which will address food insecurity challenges in the community. The cooperative will provide easier access to healthy, affordable and locally sourced food. 

 Muhlenberg College will receive $231,000 for its Inside/Out Prison Exchange Program which is a partnership between Muhlenberg College and the Lehigh County Department of Corrections that seeks to improve access to postsecondary education for incarcerated individuals. This project funding will support the program, which enrolls Muhlenberg College students alongside incarcerated adults in a semester-long academic course. 

Community Bike Works in Northampton County will receive $1,400,000 to support the development of a new bike shop and youth center in Easton. 

 In Berks County, the Borough of Sinking Spring will get $1,865,624 to realign an intersection at the western edge of the Central Business District to ease traffic congestion and accommodate tanker trucks hauling liquid gas, propane and ethanol to the highway. 

 Berks County will receive $750,000 to help complete the necessary capacity and environmental study to review the available capacity and potential impacts of adding passenger rail service to the existing freight lines between Reading and Philadelphia. 

And the Berks Latino Workforce Development Corporation will receive $500,000 to establish an expanded technical center that will offer dual-language programs in adult education and occupational training in high-demand occupations. The organization offers culturally thoughtful workforce and economic development programs to Berks County, including job training and wraparound services.