Bartholomew County to seek matching grants for road work

Bartholomew County officials say they will make a play for matching funds from the state for road projects.

The Indiana Department of Transportation announced Tuesday that the agency is accepting applications from cities, towns, and counties across the state for the funds. INDOT says the money is earmarked for local road and bridge projects through Community Crossings, the state’s local road and bridge matching grant fund.

Danny Hollander, Bartholomew County Engineer, confirmed that county officials will make a request for funding. He says that they will be asking for help with the road-overlay program, as it is the county’s biggest need at this point and the only project that is ready to go to construction. Hollander went on to say that he expects the request will total nearly one-million-dollars, but he isn’t sure if the county will receive anything.

INDOT says that the grant program came into existence this past March when Gov. Mike Pence signed the bill, which provides $186 million in state reserves for local road and bridge funding over the next two years. Officials add that the program also provides $277 million over the next four years by redirecting an additional one-and-a-half-cents of the gasoline use tax to local roads to be phased in over two years.

INDOT says that projects eligible for funding through Community Crossings include road resurfacing, bridge rehabilitation, road reconstruction, roundabouts, and Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance in connection with road projects. Material costs for chip sealing and crack filling operations are also eligible for funds.

State officials say that projects submitted to INDOT for funding will be evaluated based on need, traffic volume, local support, the impact on connectivity and mobility within the community, and regional economic significance.