Mike Wolanin | The Republic
Bartholomew County Commissioners Larry Kleinhenz, from left, Tony London and Carl Lienhoop talks with Bartholomew County Highway Engineer Danny Hollander during county commissioners meeting in the Bartholomew County Governmental Office Building in Columbus, Ind., Monday, Jan. 12, 2026.
After initially receiving no money through the state’s Community Crossings Matching Grant (CCMG), the Bartholomew County commissioners have learned there will be state money to help improve and maintain local roads.
The commissioners expressed their disappointment in November when the county did not appear on the list of government entities receiving the Community Crossings Matching Grant funding. The county had previously received the maximum amount of $1.5 million in both 2024 and 2025.
In lieu of the expected CCMG funds, the commissioners said they approached the Bartholomew County Council to fill the space with $1.5 million for road maintenance, which the council approved.
In the week between the Feb. 23 meeting and the March 2 meeting, the commissioners received a call from the state informing them that the state found $843,500 for Bartholomew County after all.
“We’ll file this under ‘The squeaky wheel gets the grease sometimes,’ ” Tony London R-District 3 said about the surprise.
Gov. Mike Braun needs to sign final approval before the money officially comes to Bartholomew County, but the commissioners have a plan for when the money comes into the county’s possession.
Instead of digging into the funds from the county council, the commissioners plan to use the state money first in their road overlay program. The state funds must be matched 50/50, so Bartholomew County has a potential $1.687 million for the roads.
On Monday, the commissioners voted to approve a notice to bidders for the 2026 road overlay program. Bid opening is set for March 23 for 19.32 miles of county roads at an estimated cost of $1.687 million.
London said that the $1.5 million from the county council will act as a backup plan or “Phase Two” of the road overlay program. The state money will go to the roads that need the most help first.
“We’re going to check with the council first to make sure that they want us to go forward with the full package and not have to claw some of that back. But we’ve talked to a couple (members of the council), and it seems like they want us to do as much as possible,” London said.
The following roads are part of the county’s 2026 road overlay program for Phase One:
Clay Township
County Road 650E, from 25th Street to County Road 50N (1 mile)
Enon Road, from State Road 9 to County Road 250N (1.22 miles)
Columbus Township
County Road 200S, from city limits to County Road 400W (0.74 mile)
County Road 225W, from County Road 200S to County Road 300S (1.03 miles)
Rock Creek Township
County Road 500S, from County Road 1000E to West County Line Road (2.01 miles)
County Road 300S/650E, from County Road 600E to Br. #17 on 650E (0.5 mile)
County Road 1100E, from County Road 400S to County Road 500S (1 mile)
Wayne Township
County Road 550S, from State Road 11 to County Road 100W (1.69 miles)
Harrison Township
County Road 250S, from County Road 400W to County Road 550W (1.49 miles)
County Road 650W, from County Road 300S to Grandview Drive (0.36 mile)
Jackson Township
County Road 950S, from State Road 58 to the West Terminus (1.48 miles)
Mulberry Drive, from County Road 450E to West Terminus (0.2 mile)
Clifty Township
County Road 1200E, from County Road 200N to County Road 300N (1.05 miles)
County Road 1050E, from State Road 46 to County Road 200N (1.01 miles)
Base Road, from County Road 1100E to County Road 1200E (1.01 miles)
Ohio Township
County Road 700W, from County Road 650S to County Road 525S (1.8 miles)
County Road 650S, from State Road 58 to County Road 700W (0.0 miles)
Pond Drive, from County Road 650W to Grandview Drive (0.16 mile)
German Township
County Road 170W, from County Road 900N to County Road 1000N (1.02 miles)
County Road 600N, from U.S. 31 to West Terminus (0.36 mile)
Flat Rock Township
County Road 500E, from County Road 400N to County Road 450N (0.5 mile)
Hawcreek Township
County Road 800E, from County Road 600N to Hope Town Limits (0.44 mile)
