By Jessica Keller, The Courier-Herald

Main Street in Buckley will get a new look in the next couple of years thanks to a Transportation Improvement Board grant.

Buckley received notice last week it was awarded a $445,000 TIB grant for Main Street. The city applied for the grant in August of this year. While officials applied for two grants, the Main Street grant was the only one selected from the Small City Program.

City Administrator Dave Schmidt said the news came as a pleasant surprise.

"We didn't think we'd get the grant," he said.

The grant will fund the repaving the street, sidewalk and installing new street lights on Main Street from River Avenue to A Street.

Schmidt said city officials hadn't really made many plans of what would be done if the city received the grant, just tossed around a couple of ideas.

Now the city will have to plan public meetings and subcommittee meetings to discuss the plans for the downtown in a "streetscape" of sorts, Schmidt said.

The $445,000 will fund 80 percent of the project, with the city providing a 20 percent, $111,000 match.

The City Council was scheduled to be informed of the award at last night's council meeting.

Jessica Keller can be reached at jkeller@courierherald.com