State awards over $3 million to boost local road projects

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Local communities recently received more than $3 million in state matching grants to bolster road and bridge improvements, according to State Rep. Randy Frye (R-Greensburg).

Over 200 Indiana cities, towns and counties received a combined total of $126.5 million through the Community Crossings Matching Grant program. The grants are made available through the Indiana Department of Transportation as a result of a law Frye supported in 2017.

“This funding is a boost for our local communities and their budgets,” Frye said. “These grants allow for many projects to be completed more quickly. Some of our roads and bridge improvements wouldn’t happen at all without Community Crossings dollars from the state.”

Ohio County received $760,250 and Ripley County was awarded $955,548 for local road projects. In addition, several communities received matching grants:

Dillsboro $232,964
Madison $721,817;
Patriot $143,155;
Rising Sun $227,122; and
Versailles $12,600.

Frye said grant funding can be used toward road and bridge preservation, road reconstruction, intersection improvements, guardrail replacements and signage. Smaller municipalities must provide a match of 25% in local funds, while large communities must provide a 50% match.

In total, more than $738 million has been distributed for local road projects through the Community Crossings program. State law requires annually that 50 percent of the available matching funds be awarded to communities within counties with a population of 50,000 or fewer.

An estimated $100 million will be available for communities opting to apply for these grants during the July 2020 call for projects. More information about the program and recipients can be found at www.in.gov/indot.