ALLENTOWN, Pa. - Allentown Mayor Matt Tuerk recently set out plans to spend more than $57 million in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds, which is pandemic relief aid from the federal government.
Tuerk said the city is dedicating about a third of the funding to infrastructure.
“I think it's critically important that we invest in our city's public infrastructure,” Tuerk said. “It's the type of thing that historically gets looked over.”
Tuerk pointed out that Allentown is about a 260-year-old city, and that a lot of its infrastructure was built in another century.
“And some of it hasn’t aged well,” he added.
Tuerk’s plan allocates just over $20 million to infrastructure projects like stormwater pipe repairs.
Federal funds will also be spent in other ways.
According to a news release from Tuerk’s office, $18 million will go toward replacing lost public sector revenue, $16 million to “negative economic impacts” and $2 million to public health.