NWA bridge, robotics center, export efforts get $1.4M in federal grants

The U.S. Department of Commerce's Economic Development Administration will give $1.4 million in grants to support a Benton County bridge project, a robotics and fabrication center and the World Trade Center Arkansas' efforts to promote more exports from Arkansas, officials announced Friday.

Benton County will get $551,013 toward completion of the Spanker Creek Bridge project, an infrastructure project "critical to the county due to its important to the local economy," according to a new release from the commerce department.

The project aims to alleviate flooding problems at the bridge, which has logged more than 4,000 vehicles daily.

A $450,000 grant to the Fayetteville Chamber of Commerce will pay for robotic equipment and staff for the NWA Regional Robotics Training Center and Fab Lab.

The robotics center will provide robotics training for aspiring robotics technicians and employees of companies with robots, while the Fab Lab will provide entrepreneurs with fabrication resources to help them commercialize their ideas, according to the news release.

Finally, $400,000 for the University of Arkansas will help the World Trade Center Arkansas promote exports from Arkansas, especially from counties that have been struck by natural disaster, according to the news release.

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