JOHNSTOWN, CAMBRIA COUNTY, Pa. (WTAJ) — The Inclined Plane in Johnstown recently received a $500,000 matching grant for its rehabilitation project.

The Historic Preservation Fund provided the grant which will go toward the $6.4 million project that was mostly funded by PennDOT.

The money will go to replacing railroad ties and upgrading lights, call boxes and shiv wheels.

The Inclined Plane has seen a drop in ridership in recent years but one official expects these renovations to change that.”

“The ripple effect in the economy because of the Inclined Plane is far-reaching in terms of restaurants, shops, hotels… a lot of those businesses thrive because of the inclined plane,” said Josh Yoder, Assistant Executive Director and Chief Operating Officer of CamTran.

Yoder says the design and engineering work is about 60% completed and expects construction to start sometime next year.