Community Crossings grants awarded

This year, about a third of the roads in Whiteland will be repaved or repaired, with much of the money for the projects coming from a state grant.

The state’s Community Crossings grant program awarded the town $731,000, more than 10 times its annual road paving budget and the highest amount awarded to any local community, according to information from the Indiana Department of Transportation.

What that means is that multiple neighborhood streets, along with main routes, will get much needed paving work. Tracy Road and Front Street are due for paving, town manager Norm Gabehart said.

Local communities were awarded more than $3.3 million in the state grant program, which started last year and is funded with state tax dollars. Last year, local communities got more than $4 million, but more communities across the state were applying this year, making the competition more steep.

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Across the county, nearly every community was awarded a grant, ranging from $149,500 to $731,000. Bargersville did not get any additional money.

The money is a significant help to communities that have struggled to keep up with all the work needed with the current amount of funding they receive from the state for roadwork, officials have said.

Whiteland gets about $60,000 per year for road work, allowing only a few projects each year, Gabehart said.

The town requested $1 million for paving work in neighborhoods, but Gabehart said he was ecstatic with the amount awarded. Now, the town can do multiple projects that have had to be pushed back year after year, he said.

“This is probably about a third of our town,” Gabehart said.

Franklin also requested a total of $1 million for paving, rebuilding roads and setting aside some cash for the roundabout planned for where Hurricane Road, Arvin Drive and Eastview Drive meet, city engineer Mark Richards said.

The city got $602,894, which will still be a big help, Richards said.

The total cost of the projects planned this year was about $1.3 million, and the city had about $1 million to put toward that work. This will allow the city to fully pay for those projects, and set aside the rest for alley work that is planned for later, Richards said.

In Edinburgh, town officials applied for a grant to replace curbs and gutters and resurface East Main Cross Street from Lind Drive to the Louisville & Indiana Railroad tracks. The town was not awarded any funds.

In total, the state awarded more than $150 million to nearly 400 projects across the state, according to the state department of transportation.

Communities will again be able to apply for grants next year.

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Here is a look at how much local communities are getting in the state’s Community Crossings grants:

Franklin;$602,894

Greenwood;$512,396

Johnson County;$337,013

New Whiteland;$470,408

Prince’s Lakes;$149,500

Whiteland;$731,223

SOURCE: Indiana Department of Transportation

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