Columbus and Bartholomew County are planning a variety of road improvement projects to be funded through the state’s matching grant Next Level Roads: Community Crossings Initiative.
City officials learned that Columbus would receive $1 million from the state for the program with a match of $1 million from the city. The $1 million city match will come from the city’s 2020 budget.
The city projects being funded include:
10th Street from U.S. 31 to McClure Road, estimated cost: $804,000
Eighth Street from Lafayette Avenue to Maple Street, estimated cost: $230,000
Gladstone Avenue from 10th Street to State Street, estimated cost: $303,000
Central Avenue from 25th Street to south of U.S. 31, estimated cost: $516,000
The work planned includes milling existing pavement, repaving with 2- to 5-inch new asphalt surface, thermoplastic pavement markings, ADA compliance at intersections, utility adjustments and remove and replace curbs and gutters at selected locations.
Dave Hayward, executive director of public works and city engineer, said the city would open the bidding process for the projects near the end of 2019 or beginning of 2020.
Bartholomew County was awarded $591,796 in matching Community Crossings funds. The county projects include overlay of:
930 South from State Road 58 to 500 West, estimated cost: $193,522
250 West from Lowell Road to 100 North, estimated cost: 183,379
400 South from State Road 7 to 750 West, estimated cost: $113,990
100 West from 650 South to 750 North, estimated cost: $116,641
60 East from 950 South to 1100 South, estimated cost: $112,502
800 West from Becks Grove Road to 700 South, estimated cost: $94,557
525 South from Becks Grove Road to 875 West, estimated cost: $94,324
550 North from 475 East to 600 East, estimated cost: $94,413
950 South from 150 West to Interstate 65 overpass, estimated cost: $92,281
525 East from 100 South to State Road 46, estimated cost: $87,990
Danny Hollander, Bartholomew County highway engineer, said about half of the county road projects listed were in the 2019 overlay program, but had to be cut out for funding reasons.
Community Crossings was created by the Indiana General Assembly three years ago with funding awarded by the state’s local road and bridge matching grant fund. Columbus received $1 million in Community Crossings funding in the second round of grant awards in 2018.
Hayward said the city did not apply for funding in the first round of grant awards in 2019 because of the money it had already received at the end of last year.
Bartholomew County received $467,400 in the first round of program grants earlier this year.
This round of funding put Columbus and Bartholomew County among 229 Indiana cities, towns and counties that received a combined $99.2 million in state matching funds for local road projects through program grants.
To apply for the grant, Hayward said applicants must submit a specific list of streets and road projects and what they intend to do in those projects.
The latest round garnered more applications than dollars available, according to the Indiana Department of Transportation, making the call for projects highly competitive.
In response to local requests to help manage project flow, INDOT now accepts applications in both January and July, with a $1 million cap annually per community. An estimated $100 million will be available for communities opting to apply during the January 2020 call for projects, according to INDOT.
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The Next Level Roads: Community Crossings Initiative is a state matching grant created by Indiana state lawmakers as part of House Enrolled Act 1002 in April 2017.
The funding is awarded by the state’s local road and bridge matching grant fund.
Columbus received $1 million in Community Crossings funding in the second round of grant awards in 2018. Bartholomew County received $467,400 in the first round of program grants earlier this year.
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Bartholomew County: $591,796
Columbus: $1,000,000
Edinburgh: $639,075
Elizabethtown: $118,730
Hope: $189,401.
Greenwood: $874,130.08
Johnson County: $1,000,000
Source: Indiana Department of Transportation
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