Litchfield will be getting $250,000 and Morris $150,000 in Small Town Economic Assistance Program grants from the state.

The grants were announced this week by the office of Gov. M. Jodi Rell. STEAP grants are awarded to the state's smaller towns for municipal and school improvement projects. A total of $20 million in grants were awarded to 115 towns.

Litchfield's funding will be used to build a pedestrian bridge over the Bantam River that will be used to access a new jambs system holding back the river and controlling the level of Bantam Lake. The bridge will span two concrete abutments that once supported a bridge of the Shepaug Railroad.

First Selectman Leo Paul Jr. said the funding will cover the cost of the bridge. Funds remaining from a previous STEAP grant for the jambs system will be for design and engineering costs, Paul said.

The bridge will also be used as part of a planned greenway linking Litchfield and Bantam. Construction could begin next summer, Paul said.

In Morris, the STEAP grant will help fund design and engineering costs for a new bridge over the Bantam River on Smokey Hollow Road. The bridge was built in the 1950s and needs to be replaced at an estimated replacement cost of $1.6 million. Federal funding will be sought for the project, First Selectman Karen D. Paradis said.

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