A cyclist bikes along Riverside Drive East in Tecumseh, on Friday, Aug. 13, 2021. PHOTO BY DAX MELMER /Windsor Star

The federal government is handing out more than $4.6 million in funding for 12 infrastructure projects across Essex County.

“When you make an improvement to a community space in LaSalle or Lakeshore or Kingsville or Windsor or Tecumseh, it benefits everyone in Essex County,” said MP Irek Kusmierczyk (L — Windsor-Tecumseh), who made the announcement on Friday.

“It doesn’t just benefit that one community. Essex County is the playground and home for all of us. So it’s great.”

The money is being delivered from two funding sources, depending on the projects. Kusmierczyk said $2,250,000 is coming from the Canada Community Revitalization Fund and $2,371,987 from Infrastructure Canada’s COVID-19 Resilience Stream.

From the revitalization fund, the Town of Essex is receiving $750,000 for downtown core streetscape upgrades. LaSalle is getting $750,000 to renovate an existing municipal building and create a waterfront event centre.

The Town of Tecumseh will receive $750,000 for the installation of a 2.4-km multi-use trail on the south side of Riverside Drive from the Tecumseh-Windsor border to Manning Road.

“It’s going to connect the Ganatchio Trail all the way to Manning,” said Kusmierczyk. “It’s that Windsor-Tecumseh connection that all of us have just been advocating for for years. It’s just awesome to see it’s going to be accelerated because of this funding.”

Tecumseh is also slated to receive $274,085 from the COVID-19 Resilience Stream to modify town hall in response to the pandemic with new HVAC units, glass barriers, air filtration units and other upgrades.

LaSalle will receive another $250,851 from that stream for the Small Coast Waterfront Park Sports Zone.

The Town of Essex will use $280,331 in COVID-19 resilience funding to retrofit town hall and Essex Recreation Complex for social distancing and safety. Kingsville will receive $92,291 to pave trails at Lakeside Park.

About $192,000 is going to Lakeshore to upgrade municipal buildings with touchless washroom facilities. Lakeshore will also receive $191,200 for dredging Belle River to mitigate flooding, and grading at West Beach to improve access and reduce flooding.

Leamington’s share of the funding is $376,830 for an emergency back-up generator for the Nature Fresh Farms Recreation Centre.

The Township of Pelee will receive $80,000 to build an off-shore rock island barrier to protect the West Pump Station during water surges and mitigate flooding. Amherstburg will receive $40,000 in federal money for Alma Street Parkette shoreline protection.

The province is also contributing a total of $474,397 to the projects listed under the COVID-19 Resilience Infrastructure Stream.

twilhelm@postmedia.com