TOWNSHEND — Grace Cottage Family Health & Hospital has received an $18,900 grant to help upgrade the sidewalk in front of Grace Cottage Family Health Clinic, along Route 35.
According to a news release, the funds from the state Department of Buildings and General Services' Building Communities grant program will allow Grace Cottage to replace a narrow asphalt sidewalk that was in need of repair with a safer, long-lasting concrete sidewalk that meets current ADA accessibility standards.
In addition to being wider, the new sidewalk will also have what a hospital spokesperson described as “an attractive retaining wall at the right height to provide outdoor seating while patients wait for their rides.”
Recessed lighting built into this wall will provide a safer walking environment early and late in the day.
Evans Construction and the Grace Cottage Maintenance Dept. are completing most of the work and expect to finish the project before winter.
Other funding for this project was donated by a private foundation and an individual donor.