More local roads will be patched and paved as soon as this year after nearly $4 million in grants was given to local communities.
The grants came from the state’s Community Crossings program, which set side $150 million for local road projects.
All of the local cities and towns and the county applied for grants, and all of them got at least some money, ranging from $40,000 to $1 million.
Local communities are still finalizing exactly how to use the money but said the grants are a big help, combined with additional income tax funding they each received this year.
For some residents, they could start seeing added road work right away.
In Greenwood, where the city got just under $1 million, the city is using the money for mostly preventive work, city engineer Mark Richards said.
The largest chunk of the money will be used to crack seal roads, but the city is also putting down a material that helps rejuvenate the roads to make them last longer and is putting a thin overlay on other roads to help them last longer, Richards said.
Another project will be done to rebuild Easy Street in Imperial Hills, he said.
The city is also looking into applying for additional grant money next year, he said.
In Johnson County and Franklin, which got about $1 million each, work will begin next year, officials said.
The county applied for a grant that would pay for about half of the work being done this year and then could set aside the local tax dollars not spent for projects next year, county highway director Luke Mastin said.
One of the reasons for doing that was because the money was awarded late in the season, when the county has already started its projects, and contractors will likely be busy with work in other communities, he said.
Franklin followed a similar approach, applying for and receiving $1 million for its paving program, reconstructing Wayne Street and repaving Central and Center streets, which were all slated to be done this year, city engineer Travis Underhill said.
But the city now has more money to put toward projects next year, he said.
“It’s $1 million we had programmed but stays in Franklin’s account, and we can advance our maintenance program that much next year,” Underhill said.
That funding, combined with the added income tax money, is allowing local communities to catch up with work that has had to be put off due to a lack of funding in past years, local officials said.
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Here is a look at how much local communities got from a state grant for road work:
Community;grant amount
Bargersville;$506,000
Edinburgh;$174,850
Franklin;$1 million
Greenwood;$957,996
Johnson County;$968,676
New Whiteland;$130,946
Prince’s Lakes;$40,835
Trafalgar;$143,900
Whiteland;$55,990
SOURCE: Indiana Department of Transportation
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