HILLSBORO, Texas (KXXV) — The Hillsboro Economic Development Corporation received a $5 million grant for road construction. Industrial Loop Road is the road the funds would be allocated to.
“I think it’s going to draw in more businesses that are going to open up more opportunities," said Israel Bowman, marketing manager at Skeeter Emergency Vehicles.
The road leading to businesses along Industrial Loop, like Skeeter Emergency Vehicles, needs to be fixed, and its current condition could impact product and prevent other businesses from coming to Hillsboro.
“It helps with the experience of the customers when they come," said Bowman.
The Hillsboro Economic Development Corporation is getting a $5 million boost in federal funding to help fix its roads and bring more economic opportunities to the area.
The money will go toward reconstructing Industrial Loop/Old Dallas Highway, a project the Hillsboro Economic Development Corporation said is long overdue.
The EDC has five years to use the funding to complete the road improvements. While there's no set date for construction to begin, Jessica Trew, the EDC's executive director, said the project is an important step toward improving the city's infrastructure and supporting future growth.
“It was not designed for the level of traffic that it is already seeing, and we anticipate that with more growth we’re going to see more and more traffic coming down this road, which makes it deteriorate faster, so we really just need to upgrade it so we can support not just our existing businesses that are here but other ones that will come later," said Jessica Trew, the executive director with the EDC.
Years ago, Trew said the city received a grant for road construction, and they’re happy to get more funding. The project's total cost is $7.9 million.
Bowman, a Hillsboro native, said funding goes beyond this road project; it can secure greater needs.
“That draws in more businesses, more tax dollars, which allows us to improve more things throughout the rest of the city. I think it will be nice to see how this changes our small little slice," said Bowman.
While some residents may want the funds to go to city street reconstruction, Trew said it doesn’t work that way.
“Because it’s industrial, we’re in a tax increment industrial zone, and it has always been a part of the project financing plan to use funds from that district to finance this particular road.”
While Bowman and other local business owners wait for construction to begin, he said he’s glad to see the project moving forward.
“It’s just kinda exciting to see the start of something," said Bowman.
