Haymarket, Journey to get state funds
The Commonwealth Transportation Board has awarded $3.5 million in transportation enhancement grants to support Virginia’s commemoration of the Sesquicentennial (150th Anniversary) of the American Civil War.
The Town of Haymarket and the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership were among the recipients.
Haymarket got the $34,000 it had asked for to rehabilitate the Southern Railway caboose in the middle of the town for public access. The total project cost is $42,750.
The Journey Through Hallowed Ground Partnership, which promotes tourism along U.S. 15 from Monticello to Gettysburg, was given $300,000 to help develop a master plan for landscaping. The total project cost is $2 million and Journey officials had requested $597,000.
All of the grants will fund a partnership between the Virginia Department of Transportation, the Virginia Tourism Corporation, the Virginia Wine Board, the Virginia Sesquicentennial of the American Civil War Commission, Virginia Civil War Trails, and the Civil War Preservation Trust. The unique venture capitalizes on the 150th anniversary of the Civil War to promote tourism and wineries throughout the Commonwealth.
Other aspects of the partnership include the acquisition and preservation of historic battlefields, updating and reprinting the Civil War Trails map, fabrication and installation of new gateway signs, and a battlefield iPhone application.