Ligonier Township has received a little less than half the state funding it sought to construct a pedestrian bridge and sidewalk for students who walk from adjacent Ligonier Borough into the township to reach Ligonier Valley High School.

Local officials say students’ safety is at stake since they now must walk in traffic lanes on the existing vehicular bridge that crosses Mill Creek, connecting the borough’s Vincent Street with Carey School Road in the township.

While grateful for the $587,ooo in multimodal transportation dollars that have been awarded, township manager Michael Strelic said Tuesday the project with an estimated $1.2 million cost may need to be rethought unless additional funding becomes available.

“Hopefully, we can find that funding somewhere else,” he said. “If we need to break this project into phases or cut some things, hopefully we can come back later and finish it.”

According to a preliminary design, the full project would involve constructing a pedestrian span next to the existing bridge as well as a sidewalk on either side of the crossing — about 700 feet long in the borough and 580 feet in the township. The township sidewalk would veer onto the high school property.

While the township has taken the lead on the proposed project, the borough and school district signed letters supporting the township’s funding application.

Strelic said he’d like all three local governing bodies involved in the discussion of how to proceed with the project.

“If we do go out for any additional grants, I’d like to do it with the three of us all together,” he said.

Mayor Butch Bellas said Ligonier Borough is all for the project but doesn’t have the funding to cover its section of the sidewalk.

Bellas said most Ligonier households are just above the maximum income level for the borough to qualify for federal block grant funding.

As for the pedestrian bridge and sidewalks, he said, “It’s a great thing. It’s needed for the kids’ safety.”

He said he’s seen kids cross the existing bridge with several people walking side by side instead of in single file

“Cars have got to come to a stop,” he said.

Strelic said he knows of no pedestrians being struck by a vehicle on the bridge but added that the bridge crossing remains a safety concern.

With the entrance to the Bethlen Home nursing and rehabilitation facility nearby, he said, “For us, there’s a lot of traffic on that section of road. There’s no sidewalk and no street lighting there.”

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