Egg Harbor City — Efforts to connect water and sewer lines to the planned high school and the prospective neighborhood around it gained a boost Wednesday from a $476,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

U.S. Rep. Frank A. LoBiondo, R-2nd, announced the grant, and Mayor Joseph Kuehner said the money will help prod construction of 200 to 250 homes near the school, which is set to open in September 2010.

The city also got a $5 million low-interest loan, to be paid back over 40 years.