POCATELLO — The City Council approved the final plats of two residential housing developments and allocated local matches toward major renovations of a busy intersection and the Center Street Underpass on Thursday.

During its 6 p.m. meeting at City Hall, the council voted to approve more than $307,000 as a local match toward a proposed overhaul of the underpass and a match of more than $227,000 toward improvements at the intersection of Quinn and Hawthorne roads, near Home Depot.

By having the matches secured and the projects further along in the planning process, the city hopes to increase its chances of securing possible federal funding from President Biden’s recently unveiled $2 trillion infrastructure plan, explained Merril Quayle, Pocatello’s public works engineer.

Quayle explained that the projects have been designed and are “sitting on the shelf,” and the city won’t be obligated to allocate the funds if the federal grants don’t get approved.

The city estimates the cost of overhauling the underpass will be $4.9 million when construction is planned to start in 2025. Some cosmetic work was done on the underpass a couple of years ago; the future project would entail moving outside walls back near the tunnel’s entrance and exit, improving drainage and replacing asphalt on the road through the tunnel. A 70-foot-long pedestrian bridge is also planned to be constructed across Center Street near the tunnel’s entrance on the west end, facing the downtown area.

Designs for the pedestrian bridge have already been made, Quayle said.

The Hawthorne and Quinn project involves widening both roads in the vicinity of the intersection and adding a traffic signal. The city estimates the cost will be $3.7 million in 2024, when they hope to start construction.

The city also approved the final plats of the Cheyenne Crossing subdivision and the Grant Street Landing subdivision. The proposed Cheyenne Crossing subdivision will be located on 3.77 acres south of Cheyenne Avenue. Carl Anderson, the city’s senior planner, said the developers have proposed to build 10 townhouses with 20 residential units. A townhouse has two homes with a common wall, with each unit capable of being sold individually.

The Grant Street Landing subdivision will be built on a residential horse pasture on South Grant Avenue near where South Main Street becomes Bannock Highway. Anderson said it would include seven lots for building single-family homes.