Deluzio Nets $15.5M in 2024 Community Project Funding

Deluzio secured millions for community projects to improve community safety and quality of life in Western PA

In early March 2024, Congressman Chris Deluzio secured $15,523,279 for fifteen community projects across Pennsylvania’s 17th Congressional District. His funding for these selected community projects will make tangible, positive impacts in the lives of his Western Pennsylvanian constituents. Taking on a wide array of issues, these projects support local community-building efforts, public safety, and quality of life across the district.

Below is a list of the fifteen projects that Congressman Deluzio put forward: 

• Public Drinking Water System in Darlington: $3,661,000
  • This funding will expand access to clean public drinking water for Darlington Township residents, just over one year after Norfolk Southern’s train derailment and chemical explosion. Currently, Darlington residents use private wells and do not have access to a public water source. This funding will provide them access to clean, public water by connecting them to nearby Beaver Falls Municipal Authority. 
• Community Center in Etna: $3,000,000 
  • This project will fund a sustainable, mixed-used redevelopment for the construction of a multi-municipal public library and multi-purpose community center. The center will serve the Etna Borough and neighboring communities to meet the educational, social, and economic needs of a community. It will provide access to computers, internet, affordable housing childcare, and other services to the local community. 
• Affordable Housing in Wilkinsburg: $1,666,279 
  • This project will help create a five-story, 41-unit mixed-use development called the Penn Lincoln Apartments that will bring affordable housing, retail space, and supportive services to the community’s most vulnerable populations. The Wilkinsburg community has long been underserved and has struggled with issues of vacancy and blight. Recent efforts by local leaders have begun to turn the tide, and there is growing interest among private developers and community partners on investing in Wilkinsburg. With this project located at a highly visible site in the community, this new development of secure, affordable, family-oriented housing as well as accompanying supportive services will help uplift Wilkinsburg’s local economy and residents. 
• West View Borough Revitalization: $1,000,000 
  • The revitalization proposal will improve ADA accessibility, multi-modal transportation, and walkability for residents and students in the West View community to get where they need to go. It will also reconstruct a new fire station, create a community plaza, and support streetscaping designs throughout the community. This project will better support local fire response services, improve pedestrian safety for kids walking to school at the local elementary school at the north side of downtown, and promote a safe and sustainable local economy that is diverse and inclusive. 
• Quaker Valley School District Safe Routes to School: $850,000 
  • This project will support Quaker Valley School District’s (QVSD) goal of widening the intersection of Camp Meeting Road and Beaver Street, located within Leetsdale Borough to improve visibility, traffic control, and pedestrian safety. The project also supports the construction of two paved pedestrian and walking paths from the intersection to the lower entrance of the high school property. At this time, there is no designated pedestrian or bicycle paths in this area of Beaver Street, and this will allow students and community members to more safely access the school grounds. This project is part of a larger a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the school district and the community in support of the construction of the new QVSD High School. 
• Borough of Coraopolis for Waterline Replacement: $800,000 
  • The project will help replace aging roadway infrastructure along School Street in Coraopolis. The existing roadway and water system underneath is in need of repair. The Borough is proposing a joint effort with the Coraopolis Water and Sewer Authority, as the owner/operator of waterline facilities, to use the roadway construction opportunity to also replace the existing lead joint water main. In addition to improving a key traffic route for pedestrian and vehicular traffic, the proposed project will comply with regulatory objectives to remove lead pipes from drinking water systems. Lead pipes can contaminate drinking water, and since exposure to lead is especially dangerous to children’s healthy development, the removal of these pipes is an important public health priority for the community. The proposed project will help ease costs for ratepayers and customers of the Coraopolis Water and Sewer Authority by avoiding future rate increases for taxpayers to cover the costs of these repairs and upgrades.
• Penn Hills Old William Penn Highway Rehabilitation: $800,000 
  • This funding will immediately repair a partially collapsed section of Old William Penn Highway and stave off further collapse and structural failure. The rehabilitation of the road is supported by residents, local businesses and commuters. Old William Penn Highway also serves as a main artery in the region, connecting Penn Hills to the Parkway East as well as to the Sri Venkateswara Temple, a major Hindu temple in the region with thousands of members.
• West Deer Fire Station Renovation: $750,000 
  • This project will renovate an existing vacant commercial structure for use as a fire station in West Deer. The previous fire station was in need of major repairs and was no longer adequate to meet the needs of the growing community. This investment will provide basic public safety services and allow the West Deer Volunteer Fire Department to meet several currently unmet public safety needs that were identified through recent community surveys and studies. This region has experienced rapid growth that has put a strain on the current level of public safety services.
• Scott Twp. Police Dept. Equipment: $700,000
  • This project will allow the Scott Township Police Department to purchase a mobile command center to respond to larger scale incidents and community events. Scott Township PD has experienced serious public safety incidents in the past and did not have access to a mobile command center. The addition of this resource to the Department would allow officers to more effectively and safely respond to large incidents and disturbances. In addition to Scott Township using the mobile command center, the Police Department will share the center available with surrounding agencies, as needed. 
• Fairhaven Community Development in Kennedy Twp: $600,000
  • This project will create a new walking trail in Fairhaven that includes lights, playground, and age-appropriate exercise equipment in a historic location to attract park goers, families, nature observers and recreators. It will offer the diverse community a safe, accessible, policed, and upgraded green space to enjoy, exercise, and build community. 
• Wilkinsburg Police Dept. Equipment: $514,000 
  • This project will allow the Wilkinsburg Police Department to upgrade their outdated officer body-worn cameras to the latest technology on the market and will also expand the current network of surveillance and traffic camera systems to provide coverage to the entire Borough. The requested funding will greatly improve the department's ability to respond to and prevent crime in more areas across Wilkinsburg, including near local schools. Improved public safety in the area will also help support community and economic development efforts within the borough.
• Pittsburgh Regional Transit Dormont Junction Station Improvement Project: $500,000
  • This improvement project will upgrade the Dormont Junction light rail station’s amenities to better serve the hundreds of daily riders who come through the station. The project will enhance all station amenities, encourage ridership growth, and support the Borough’s Transit Oriented Development (TOD) initiative for this area. This includes bringing the station into compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act and replacing the station canopy as well as adding pedestrian amenities, safety features, new benches, waste receptacles, wayfinding signage, landscaping, bicycle racks, and LED lighting upgrades. The project is needed to create a safer and more welcoming station (particularly for pedestrian access), while incorporating future plans for sustainable and equitable TOD adjacent to the site.
• PennDOT SR 68, Virginia Avenue/Adams Street Upgrades: $500,000
  • This project will support highway reconstruction on SR 68 from Virginia Avenue to Adams Street in Rochester Borough, Beaver County. This project will improve driving experience by removing the existing brick base underneath the asphalt roadway and extending the pavement life through this corridor. The project scope of work includes full reconstruction of the existing roadway, guide rail updates, drainage adjustments, curb replacement, traffic signal upgrades, and signing and pavement marking updates.
• Borough of Sharpsburg for Stormwater Infrastructure: $132,000 
  • This project will allow the Borough of Sharpsburg to develop a design and engineering infrastructure plan to protect the community from the dangers of stormwater and sewage flooding or overflow. It is estimated that the construction of a significant green/gray combination infrastructure project in Sharpsburg's Kennedy Park, saving significant stormwater (approximately 714,000 gallons) from hitting the combined sewer system and providing substantial flood risk relief for a large portion of the community. This water management will also create more opportunities for local economic development thanks to reduced flood exposure of homes and businesses in the area and improve the quality of life for people who utilize the park, by adding native plants, pollinators, and shade to the space.
• Harmar Twp. Police Dept. Cruiser: $50,000 
  • This funding will replace six cameras inside Harmar Police Department cruisers that are outdated and no longer working properly. The funds would be used to purchase in-car video/audio recording cameras for the Harmar Township Police Department's fleet of patrol vehicles. Harmar experiences a significant number of visitors due to the presence of several major highways passing through the Township. Having these cameras will help the Police Department better collect and record evidence, as well as maintain the public's trust in law enforcement.