The term economic development may convey different meanings to different people. Some may envision stores, restaurants, and office buildings. Others may see new residential neighborhoods or apartment complexes. For the City of Green River Engineering Division, economic development relies on the infrastructure that undergirds and supports our community. The city’s engineering division is charged with improving the infrastructure – water, sewer, storm, and streets – that make it possible to live, work and play in our beautiful city. We have several infrastructure projects coming up that have the potential to make a big impact on economic development, particularly in the city’s riverfront area.
The biggest of the city’s upcoming infrastructure projects is the reconstruction of Second South Street from the underpass to Uinta Drive. This project is funded by the Sixth Penny Tax, and is scheduled to begin this spring. The project will include a total rebuild of 2nd South, including asphalt pavement, curb, gutter, and sidewalk, as well as a water main replacement. We are also incorporating many of the streetscape beautification elements that were defined in the city’s 2nd South Beautification Master Plan of 2003 and the 2012 Comprehensive Plan into the street design. Street trees, decorative lighting, and wider sidewalks are a few of the elements that are envisioned with this project.
In conjunction with the 2nd South reconstruction, the city will be pursuing a community enhancement grant to leverage the city’s investment in Second South Street to extend improvements to other portions of the Riverfront area, including S. 2nd E. Street, Evers Park, and Expedition Island. The full scope of these potential improvements is in the planning stages, but we are looking to leverage our tax-funded infrastructure investments to improve access to the fabulous resource we have in the Green River.
One goal of public infrastructure investment is to be a catalyst for private investment. But private investment cannot come if the zoning doesn’t reflect the types of land uses a community wants to encourage in an area. Along with the public investments planned for the Riverfront area, the city is looking at zoning updates, as envisioned in the 2012 Comprehensive Plan, which would allow additional land uses in the Riverfront area to encourage private investments to take advantage of the public infrastructure investments being made.
And finally, while not as visible or glamorous as a street beautification project, the city is planning to replace its Northside Lift Station. Built in the 1960s, this facility moves all of the sanitary sewage generated on the north side of the river to the Wastewater Treatment Plant located on the south side of the river. This facility has reached the end of its useful life, but the need for it has never been greater. The area it serves, including the riverfront, historic downtown, and both freeway interchanges, includes the areas of the city most primed for redevelopment.
Without the ability to remove wastewater, no amount of investment in economic development can succeed. The city intends to apply for a community readiness grant to leverage local funds to replace this lift station with a modern facility designed and sized for the future of the Riverfront area and beyond.
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