SHAFTER, Calif. (KERO) — La Colonia Mexicana, a small community just south of Shafter, broke ground Tuesday on a new sidewalk project that will bring the first concrete walkways to the neighborhood in decades.

The $2 million project will construct just shy of one mile of curbing and sidewalks throughout the community, which has long been without basic pedestrian infrastructure. Funding comes from Assembly Bill 617, a state program focused on improving air quality in disadvantaged communities.

"We're constructing approximately a mile of curbing and sidewalk for this community so that they can gain better walkability for their community, better interconnectivity with the community that they live in," said Joshua Champlin, Kern County Public Works Director.

Champlin said the project will a

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