VERNON — Jennings County’s infrastructure is receiving a boost from a state program.
The county has been awarded $320,760 through the Next Level Roads: Community Crossings Initiative, which was created in 2016 to provide state matching funds to improve local roads, bridges and sidewalks across Indiana.
Representatives from cities and counties across southern Indiana crowded into the Jennings County Government Center on Nov. 8 to meet with Gov. Eric Holcomb and receive their share of $100 million awarded through the initiative.
The governor’s office contacted Jennings County Commissioner Matt Sporleder about having the ceremony in Vernon.
“I said we would just love to have him here,” Sporleder said.
More than a dozen oversized checks were presented. Jennings County’s share will be used to improve Brownstown Road and O&M Street, Sporleder said.
“It took a lot of phone calls to get everything arranged in time, but it was fun to have everyone come here to pick up their checks,” Sporleder said.
The structure of the program prohibited some Jennings County communities from applying for Community Crossings money, he added.
“You have to have a percentage of money to match the state money, and some of the towns just didn’t have money left this year to do that, but we will do it next year. It is a good program,” Sporleder said.
The Community Crossing Initiative was passed by the Indiana Legislature and signed by Holcomb in 2016. Since then, the initiative has awarded nearly $400 million to local governments.
This year, 444 communities applied for funds, but only 283 communities received funds.
“When it comes to building and maintaining our infrastructure, we are in this together for the benefit of all Hoosiers,” Holcomb said. “I am encouraged by the immediate impact of this program and look forward to hundreds more projects being funded by the Community Crossings initiative taking shape in the coming months.”
