Sidewalks to Be Added in East Newhall

East Newhall will receive a $650,000 make-over later this year in the form of new sidewalks and repaved alleyways.

The work is expected to improve drainage conditions and pedestrian safety.

Residents have long asked for sidewalks in the area. A candidate for City Council in April made the sidewalks an issue.

Larry Bird said that funds have been long been available to the city for infrastructure improvements.

“They have been getting grant funds for years,” he said. “The county, preceding that, was getting funds. For some odd reasons, very little of that money has filtered into infrastructure improvements.

“It’s going on three and a half years and we’re still waiting for work to be done.”

City officials are paying for the improvements with federal Community Development Block Grant money set aside to help low- and moderate-income residents through construction projects.

Santa Clarita is using about $260,000 in block grant funds awarded this year and the remaining $390,000 from similar funds unspent over the past two years for the Newhall project.

“We’re really excited about this,” said Vyto Adomaitis, manager of the grant program. “It’s nice to get something done that will really bring some changes and improvements to the area.”

The City Council is expected to authorize seeking construction bids for the project July 12. Groundbreaking is tentatively set for September, with work to be completed by January, 1995.