A significant stretch of South Tacoma Way is slated to receive major improvements as a result of two grants totaling approximately $3.6 million recently awarded to the City of Tacoma.

Tacoma City Council approved a resolution Tuesday authorizing the city to accept the grants.

The project will focus on a section of South Tacoma Way that includes South 56th Street to South 66th Street, and South 43rd Street to South 47th Street, according to City of Tacoma staff, and calls for installing new bus shelters and transit stop pads, replacing hazardous sidewalks and adding new sidewalks, installing new streetlights, adding mid-block crossing signals for pedestrians, constructing a segment of the historic Water Ditch Trail, adding new landscape amenities, and adding a bike lane.

The work will be paid for by a $2,194,196 million grant from the Federal Highways Administration, and a $1,495,500 grant from the Washington State Transportation Improvement Board. The City of Tacoma will also contribute $341,412 toward the project.