It was a complicated road, with many a twist and turn, but Lansford residents now have a straight line to Lansford Borough Hall.

A new handicap accessible ramp to the municipal building, which cost $88,646, was dedicated on Thursday, a project that needed the cooperation of multiple political factions to be completed.Lansford Borough Councilwoman Rose Mary Cannon explained how it all started with a $265,000 grant from the Pennsylvania Department of Community and Economic Development, through the efforts of former state Rep. Keith McCall in 2010.The money was to be used toward renovations to the Lansford American Fire Company No. 1 building, and the Lansford Borough offices, which were located on the fire company building's second floor at the time.The first twist came in 2011, after borough officials actually received a check.It was thought that the borough and fire company would have to match the grant, dollar for dollar. Fire company officials thought they could come up with some matching funds, but not all. Council began looking for ways to raise funds without raising taxes.Then there was a turn, when estimates to refurbish the building climbed to more than half a million dollars.The cost of demolishing the building was much less, estimated at $99,000 for demolition and $150,000 to construct a pole building.This didn't include extras such as plumbing, heating, electricity, air conditioning, interior fixtures and more, but it was still considerably less than renovation.The next twist came in 2012, when officials learned the DCED grant did not have to be matched.It was decided to demolish the fire station, construct the pole building and move the borough offices to 1 W. Ridge St., the site of the Lansford Community Center.The biggest problem with the move would be making the offices handicapped accessible.Another turn came when estimates for the ramp came in at $50,000 more than estimated, and more than the borough had left after contributing to the demolition/construction of the new fire station and replacement of all the windows in the police station after an unhappy resident went on a window smashing spree.And, in order for the ramp to be ADA compliant, the borough had to have help from the Lansford-Coaldale Joint Water Authority, with an office located adjacent to the new Lansford Borough Office.The water authority offered assistance, as did the Carbon County Commissioners, all in the interests of public safety.Commissioners Wayne Nothstein, Thomas J. Gerhard and William O'Gurek shuffled approximately $55,000 in CDBG funding, moving it from a proposed Banks Township project to the shovel ready Lansford project.It was finally time for construction to begin, which brought about another twist.How would residents access borough hall while the ramp was being constructed?Enter Lansford Tax Collector Dan Wynn, who agreed to provide access through his office, located on the west side of the building.After a symbolic ribbon cutting, Cannon thanked everyone who had a hand in completing the project."It was a long time coming and there were a lot of people involved," she noted. "We needed each and every one of you to get this done."The commissioners were all in attendance and each remarked on the importance of working together for public safety.O'Gurek said "This was a chance for us to help build Lansford up when so many people are ready to tear it down."Nothstein and Gerhard both pledged to work with borough officials on future projects.Earlier that day, the commissioners also spoke about the project during their weekly meeting.At that time, O'Gurek said, "If you saw the steps in front of that building, you would have seen how difficult it would have been for seniors, elderly and handicap people to get in. Now they're taking down barriers for some people. ... We are really happy to be able to partner with Lansford and we're looking forward to partnering with them and other communities in the future."Lansford Council President Martin Ditsky congratulated Cannon, thanking her for overseeing the entire project, from its beginning to successful end.Amy Miller contributed to this report.