Local municipalities soon will begin road paving work after receiving funding from the state’s Community Crossroads Matching Grant program.
On Tuesday, the state awarded a total of $126.5 million to 214 Hoosier cities, towns and counties, including Seymour, Crothersville and Jackson County, for road projects.
“Hoosier communities are able to take on more needed road work and do it in record time thanks to Community Crossings,” Gov. Eric Holcomb said. “Our commitment to partnering with cities, towns and counties on vital infrastructure helps build strong communities poised for investment and job growth.”
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Seymour
The city of Seymour received $999,977.50, which it will match with funding from the Seymour Redevelopment Commission for a total of about $2 million to repave portions of 40 city streets totaling 7 miles.
Those streets are:
Second Street from Indianapolis Avenue east to the dead end
Allegretti Avenue, full-depth replacement from Meadowlark Place north to the dead end
Catalpa Drive, full-depth replacement from Schleter Road south to the dead end
Community Drive from Second to Sixth streets
Chestnut Street from North Park to Laurel streets
Seventh Street from Chestnut Street east to the railroad
Eighth Street from Broadway to Blish streets
Arrowhead Drive from New Ford Road north to the dead end
Bennett Street from O’Brien Street west to the dead end
Buckeye Street from Tipton to Brown streets
Cottage Circle
Dunbar Drive from Dutchmans Lane to Burkart Boulevard
Emerson Avenue from Seventh to Eighth streets
G Avenue from the Humane Society to the SFD fire training facility
Hampton Court from Coventry Drive east to the dead end
Holly Drive
Northbound Indianapolis Avenue from Seventh to Ninth streets and from Second Street south to the dead end
Ewing Street from Second Street south to the dead end
Kasting Road from Wendemere Drive to McDonald Street
Laurel Street from Kasting Road to the railroad
Lynn Street from McDonald to Jackson streets
Maple Street from Oak Street south to the dead end
Meadowbrook Drive from Tipton Street south to city limits
Outlet Drive from Tanger Boulevard to the entry area to Tipton Street
Park Street from Eighth to Ninth streets
Pershing Street from Eighth to Ninth streets
Schepman Avenue from Tipton to State Street and from State Street to Snyder Avenue
South Street from Chestnut Street to the railroad
South Drive in Sunset Parkway from West to East drives
Greenway Court from South Drive north to the dead end
East Drive from North to South drives
North Drive from West to East drives
Rose Mary Court from North Drive south to the dead end
Meadow Court from North Drive south to the dead end
Sweetbrier Court from West Drive west to the dead end
Thorndike Court from South Drive north to the dead end
West Drive from North to South drives
Twin Circle Drive from 10th Street east to the dead end
Vine Street from Third Street south to the dead end
Western Parkway from New Ford Road to Lakeview Drive
During a meeting Thursday, the Seymour Board of Public Works and Safety voted to award the CCMG paving projects to Dave O’Mara Contractor Inc. of North Vernon for a low bid of $2,463,832.50.
Work is slated to begin by the end of April or early May and wrap up by Nov. 1.
The condition of Seymour’s streets is at an all-time high thanks to the CCMG program, which started in 2016, and the city’s asset management plan put into place in 2014 by former city engineer Nathan Frey.
Since 2016, Seymour has received more than $4 million from the state from the CCMG program and has invested a total of roughly $8 million total in road maintenance. Before that time, the city was only putting about $150,000 to $200,000 into road repairs annually.
Crothersville
Crothersville was successful in receiving Community Crossings funding for the third time.
The town was awarded the full amount it applied for — $206,298.75. That follows the nearly $641,000 in CCMG funding Crothersville received for paving projects in 2018 and 2019.
This year’s repaving projects are:
Main Street Circle
Main Street from 480 feet east of Preston Street to Main Street Circle
Walnut Street from Preston Street to 700 feet east
Bard Street from U.S. 31 to Seymour Road
Walnut Street from U.S 31 to Seymour Road
Vine Street from the terminus to Walnut Street
Central Avenue from the terminus to Moore Street
Cindy Lane from U.S. 31 to 80 feet west of Seymour Road
During Tuesday night’s Crothersville Town Council meeting, Brad Bender with FPBH Inc. said bids for the work will be opened April 28.
The council plans to award the project during its May 5 meeting. The contractor will have until Nov. 3 to be substantially completed with the work, and the final completion date is anticipated to be Dec. 1, Bender said.
Jackson County
County Highway Superintendent Jerry Ault said this is the third time the county has received funds through the CCMG program.
“This will just about double the amount of money we have available for paving this year,” he said.
Ault said the money will allow the county to pave just a little more than 30 miles of the 731-plus miles of county roads.
He said the county still has quite some way to go when it comes to getting every road in shape, but the matching grant program has helped a lot since it first became available.
Ault said the county paving work has yet to go out for bid.
The Community Crossings Initiative has provided more than $738 million in state matching funds for construction projects. The latest round garnered more applications than dollars available, making the call for projects highly competitive.
In response to local requests to help manage project flow, INDOT now accepts applications in both January and July with a $1 million cap annually per community. An estimated $100 million will be available for communities opting to apply during the July 2020 call for projects.
“INDOT’s mission is to build and maintain Indiana’s transportation to grow our economy and enhance the quality of life in Indiana,” said Joe McGuinness, Indiana Department of Transportation commissioner.
“Through Community Crossings, we’re able to take that commitment to local roads, not just our highways,” he said. “This sustained investment by the state makes sure that the Crossroads of America is maintained from the first mile to the last mile.”
