Residents of eight rural neighborhoods in Bartholomew County can look forward to driving on new blacktop.
Just one month after receiving a $990,928 state matching grant to repave 22 miles of rural roads, the Bartholomew County Highway Department announced they have remaining funds sufficient for repaving an additional 8.21 miles of roads, county highway engineer Danny Hollander said.
A decision was made to devote the entire Phase Two of the county’s overlay program to residential subdivisions, Hollander said. The locations, project lengths and estimated costs are:
Clay Township
- Jewell Village (1.95 miles) – $127,410.
- Webbs Way, from County Road 650 East to the east Terminus (0.17 miles) – $12,345.
- The Orchard (0.24 miles) – $19,170.
- Pleasant View and Talberton additions (1.33 miles) – $96,555.
- Colony Park (1.51 miles) – $109,628.
Jackson Township
- Hillview (0.82 miles) – $59,535.
Sandcreek Township
- SouthHill Farms (0.38 miles) – $30,345.
- Bethel Village (1.81 miles) – $131,408.
Contractors have been asked to submit their bids for Phase Two to the Bartholomew County Commissioners no later than 10 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 2.
Since the second phase of the overlay project will not involve Community Crossing matching state grants, county highway officials will be able to avoid delays and regulations involved in Phase One.
For example, only one contractor can be chosen for the entire Phase if the 50-50 matching grants are awarded. While Phase Two grant applications are usually due in July, the money usually is not received until after the construction season ends, so the work often has to wait until spring.
But since the county will spend their normal road funds, the county will be able to hire multiple firms for Phase Two, based on which company submits the lowest bid for each of the eight projects, Hollander said. Since the money is already in the county coffers, projects awarded next month could be completed this year.
