LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- Kentucky Lt. Gov. Jacqueline Coleman announced more than $1.7 million in federal funds will go toward infrastructure projects in Nelson and LaRue counties.

In two separate news conferences Tuesday, Coleman said money from the American Rescue Plan Act will benefit several initiatives, including clean water, sidewalk construction, a new railway museum project and youth baseball fields, to name a few.

“These awards will bring additional visitors to this region, and they’ll keep some of our youngest learners safe around their school,” Coleman said in a news release. “They also help us make sure all our Kentucky families have access to clean water – a basic human right. This is what Kentuckians in Nelson and LaRue counties, and across the commonwealth, deserve.”

Below is a full list of the announcements Tuesday and what the money is earmarked for:

  • Nelson County:
    • $830,400
      • The design and construction of a new sidewalk on Templin Avenue in Bardstown, connecting to a current sidewalk project on Chambers Boulevard. The new sidewalk will be near the new Bardstown Elementary School, which is slated to open this fall.
    • $289,080
      • The development of the Kentucky Club Car Project at the Kentucky Railway Museum (KRM) in New Haven. The project will restore a classic rail club car built in 1926 that will then be used for KRM excursions to Log Still Distillery in Gethsemane and other events.
Kentucky Railway Museum in New Haven

The old tavern lounge car has been locked up for years and sits between other defunct cars on the track outside of the museum in New Haven. Greg Mathews, the executive director with the museum, said the goal has long been to restore the car, but they needed funds.

Now, Mathews said the club car could reopen within 16 months.

"Once we get it back operational, we will pair it up with some of our historic equipment — like the Kentucky, which was the president’s car — and other cars, and it will be a premiere train," he said. "It will be used for all kinds of things, including economic development, our regular excursions, special events, weddings and so forth.”

The train car will eventually connect the Railway Museum to Dant Crossing, which is home to a distillery, amphitheater and The Legacy.

“And now there’s going to be an events type of situation with what we do and what Log Still does that will make all sorts of options available for children, and families, and just a very positive outcome," Mathews said.

  • LaRue County:
    • $285,531
      • Funding toward the LaRue County Water District No. 1 for the Buffalo Water Tank Rehabilitation. The 97,000-galon tank on College Street is the oldest in the district's system and requires major repairs.
    • $243,251
      • Improvements to the Smith Plaza Tower in Hodgenville, cleaning the tower and making several repairs inside. The project is meant to provide 24-hour storage capacity and water quality.
    • $125,000
      • Resurface five existing and two new baseball field in Hodgenville

The Hodgenville mayor and Larue County Judge Executive said repainting the water towers is necessary.

“Well, it will help us get out of hot water with the state. It’s a good water tower, it just needs to be repainted," said Mayor Jim Phelps said.

“When you think of any type of utility, water’s gotta be number one. And that’s a goal of ours, to get public water to everybody in the county. Good, safe drinking water for everybody in the county," Judge Executive Blake Durrett said.

“While the legislature has had a plate full of priorities, we kept vital infrastructure updates like funding for the Cleaner Water Project at the top of our minds,” Rep. Brandon Reed, whose district includes LaRue County, said in a news release. “The federal relief funds that my colleagues and I have fought to attain will create a generational impact here in Hodgenville. I’m thankful for the General Assembly’s commitment to providing significant resources here in our community so that all of us have clean drinking water and updated waste infrastructure.”

Copyright 2022 WDRB Media. All Rights Reserved.