JERSEY: City of Grafton looking at IDOT grant for sidewalks and ferry service

By Editor | June 4, 2025 |

By Steven Spencer

The Grafton City Council discussed applying for grants at their May 20 meeting which will be used for different projects in the city including sidewalk improvements and expanding ferry service.

City Engineer Scott Weiner told the council that the Illinois Department of Transportation had recently announced grant funding which the city will apply for to complete their sidewalk project.

“If you recall we put together a comprehensive list of sidewalks either to be replaced or extended within the city limits along Main Street,” Weiner said at the May 20 city council meeting. “So we are going to work on taking the project and submitting that.”

Mayor Mike Morrow said they’ll apply for an IDOT grant for the ferry sale and operation as the city works towards purchasing two vessels from the Calhoun Ferry Company.

“We will be applying for a ferry sale and operation grant from the state. That’s going to be about $1.5 million for the city and we will also be applying for a ferry design grant. That will be a federal grant and that’s going to be about $250,000,” Mayor Morrow said.

The ferry committee has been actively working to find funding and move forward with the ferry project and is expected to provide more information to the council soon.

“If this avenue works through then we’re very confident we can get this ferry operating this year on a year-round service,” Mayor Morrow said.

Weiner also told council at the meeting the crosswalk project had wrapped up.

“Everything looks good so we’ll be going through the process of closing that out,” he said, noting that there were a few things to close out with IDOT. “But for all intents and purposes, it’s up and running and should be a nice addition.”

City Council also approved a proclamation recognizing May as Motorcycle Awareness Month in the State of Illinois.

Grafton Bike Week had just concluded which Mayor Morrow said was quite an extravaganza.

Police Chief Dave Womack said Bike Week went well with an estimated 30,000 people and about 20,000 bikes in town.

“As far as we’re concerned it went off very well. We had no major incidents. We didn’t even have a bike crash,” he said. “We had no major incidents. In fact, we didn’t even have a call down there as far as I know.”

Mayor Morrow said the event went incredibly well, drawing in an impressive crowd.

“I rode with the Chief on Friday night and Saturday night and it was loud, there was a lot of people having a lot of fun, there was a lot of folks in town,” Mayor Morrow said. “Everything went extremely well. Couldn’t ask for a better event.”

In other business, the council approved the mayor’s nomination of Bill Polsa to the Veteran’s Committee and approved $150 from the Veteran’s Fund to the Veteran’s Committee to defray the costs with the Memorial Day ceremony.