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Winchester is taking steps to secure additional state funding to continue its downtown-revitalization efforts, focusing on an area adjacent to and leading up to the Square.

The Winchester City Council unanimously approved on Nov. 14 to apply for $1.112 million from the state with the city chipping in $356,112 in a 70-30 percent matching formula with the state paying the greater share.

A resolution the council approved says the city is eligible for funds through the Transportation Alternatives Program, administered by the Tennessee Department of Transportation.

It says there’s a need to construct Phase V of the Winchester Downtown Revitalization effort, which will involve upgrading North College Street from First Avenue Northwest to Second Avenue Northwest with sidewalk, curb-and-gutter, street-lighting, asphalt-resurfacing and landscaping improvements.

The upgrades will make the area compliant with Americans with Disabilities Act requirements, according to the resolution.

Mayor Sean Crabtree said the Winchester Square and the area around it are a stellar attraction to the community, and the downtown-revitalization efforts are a priority.

He said North College Street is adjacent to where the Oldham Theatre is located, and the upgrades will make a major difference in improving the area next to and behind the building.

The Department of Transportation’s website says numerous improvements have been made in Tennessee communities since the former Federal Transportation Enhancement Program, now known as the Transportation Alternatives Program, began providing funds to local governments in 1991.

The website says that nearly $409 million in grants have been distributed by the department. The money has gone to hundreds of communities across the Volunteer State to build sidewalks and bike lanes, update ADA accessibility and renovate historic transportation facilities and other transportation-related structures.

The impact of some of the projects is primarily local, whereas projects such as the wildflower-planting along roadways across the state can be enjoyed annually by thousands of Tennesseans and tourists, the website says, adding that whether large or small, the projects serve the same purposes — improving access and providing a better quality of life for people in the state of Tennessee.