Governor Eric J. Holcomb and INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness Wednesday announced 283 Indiana cities, towns and counties received a combined $100 million in state-matching funds for local road projects through the Next Level Roads: Community Crossings Initiative.
“Infrastructure plays a vital role in taking Indiana to the Next Level, and that includes everything from our interstates down to the last mile—including our local roads, bridges and sidewalks,” Gov. Holcomb said. “When it comes to building and maintaining our infrastructure, we’re in this together for the benefit of all Hoosiers. I am encouraged by the immediate impact of this program and look forward to hundreds more projects funded by Community Crossings taking shape in the coming months.”
Now in its third year, Community Crossings has awarded nearly $400 million in state matching funds to local governments for construction projects. In 2018, 444 communities applied for funds making this year’s call for projects highly competitive.
Locally, it was very disappointing for Marshall County officials who were shocked to see that they did not receive an award in this 1st round. Marshall County had applied for road projects totaling just over the $1 million dollar limit. There were a couple of other communities in Marshall County that were also disappointed, Kim Berger the Bourbon Town Clerk said they had applied for about $500,000 and was shocked when WTCA called and gave her the bad news that they were not awarded. Bremen also did not make the cut. According to Bremen Town Clerk Janet Anglemyer they had applied for approximately $321,000. She too was disappointed the community received nothing.
Several communities were successful, especially the Town of Argos who was awarded $926,970.24. Culver also received $282,576 while Plymouth was awarded $479,907.68.
INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness said, “Community Crossings helps cities, towns, and counties take care of what they have and plan for the future.” He continued, “Three years into the program, the state has partnered with local governments to improve thousands of road miles and dozens of bridges. The impact has been significant and felt across all 92 counties, and I’m excited for that impact to continue with this round of projects.”
Community Crossings was created by the Indiana General Assembly in 2016. Funds for the program are awarded from the state’s local road and bridge matching grant fund. To qualify for funding, local governments must provide local matching funds, 50 percent for larger communities or 25 percent for smaller communities, from a funding source approved for road and bridge construction. They must also submit an INDOT-approved asset management plan for maintaining existing roads and bridges.
State law requires annually that 50 percent of the available matching funds be awarded to communities within counties with a population of 50,000 or fewer. State lawmakers identified long-term funding for Community Crossings as part of House Enrolled Act 1002, passed by the legislature and signed into law by Gov. Holcomb in April 2017.
Beginning in 2019, INDOT will make it more convenient for local communities to pursue Community Crossings grants by offering two calls for projects per year. Moving forward, INDOT will accept project applications in January and July each year, with a given community being eligible to apply for up to $1 million once per year during the call of their choice.
The list of all communities receiving matching funds in 2018 is online at www.in.gov/indot/communitycrossings.
