Putnam County, Cloverdale receive Community Crossings funding

Two local entities are among those receiving state-matching funds for local road projects through the state’s Next Level Roads: Community Crossings Initiative.

Putnam County will receive $1 million in road funding, while the Town of Cloverdale will receive $412,148.16.

Gov. Eric Holcomb and INDOT Commissioner Joe McGuinness made the announcement Tuesday morning that 189 Indiana cities, towns and counties received a combined $115 million in the winter round of funding.

“Indiana’s fully-funded, long-term Next Level Roads plan means cities, towns and counties are improving their roads and bridges at levels unmatched in our state’s history,” Holcomb said. “Community Crossings projects are crucial to first mile and last mile solutions that companies need when evaluating Indiana to locate their business or expand to create additional jobs.”

For smaller communities such as Putnam County and Cloverdale, Community Crossings represents a 75-25 match of state funds to local funds.

For the county, the work will include hot mix asphalt for five distinct projects totalling 12.378 miles. The projects come at an estimated total cost of $1.33 million.

Chief among these projects is paving a little more than four miles from the Greencastle city limits on Albin Pond Road to the Fillmore town limits on Old Right-of-Way Road.

Cloverdale submitted requests for funding for 32 different roads within the town. Town Clerk-treasurer Cheryl Galloway said the work will be on milling and paving in various locations around the town.

Based on state funding the total value of the town’s projects is $549,530.88.

No other Putnam County entities were included in this round of funding. However, there will be another call for applications in July. An estimated $100 million will be available for communities opting to apply during the 2019 summer call for projects.

The state caps Community Crossings funds at $1 million annually per community, making Putnam County ineligible for the July round of funding.

The Community Crossings Initiative has provided more than $500 million in state matching funds for construction projects. The latest round garnered 229 applications—making the call for projects highly competitive.

“Local leaders are improving the conditions of local roads and bridges all across the state with funding from the Community Crossings Initiative,” McGuinness said. “The partnership model with the state sharing in the cost of local projects means Hoosier taxpayers receive great value as communities deliver needed projects.”

To qualify for funding, local governments must provide local matching funds, 50 percent for larger communities or 25 percent for smaller communities, from a funding source approved for road and bridge construction. They must also submit an INDOT-approved asset management plan for maintaining existing roads and bridges.

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. State lawmakers identified long-term funding for Community Crossings as part of House Enrolled Act 1002, passed by the legislature and signed into law by Holcomb in April 2017.

The list of all communities receiving matching funds in the 2019 winter call for projects is online at www.in.gov/indot/communitycrossings.