County Highway to receive nearly $7.5 million in federal funds

Dunbar Bridge

The Putnam County Highway Department will receive nearly $7.5 million in federal transportation funding for a total of three projects, the state announced Wednesday.

These Federal Highway Administration (FHWA) dollars will fund the lion’s share of projects that will rehabilitate and bypass Dunbar Bridge, perform a curve correction on Manhattan Road and fund a countywide sign inventory.

The Dunbar Bridge Project will receive $4,797,200 in federal funding, Manhattan Road will be funded for at least $2,353,500 and the sign inventory for $117,000.

“I hope I’m going to be very busy for the next few years,” County Engineer Jim Peck said Wednesday morning prior to the announcement.

Specifics on the projects sure to keep Peck, the highway staff and contractors busy in the coming years include:

Dunbar Bridge: The 144-year-old covered bridge will be restored and bypassed at a point just downstream on Big Walnut Creek northwest of Greencastle. The new bridge will be nearly twice the length of the existing bridge, built in a way to withstand a 100-year flood without raising water levels upstream.

The plan also includes a 300-foot approach up Dunbar Road to the northwest and 200 feet of County Road 175 West, a dead-end gravel road that runs along the uphill side of the creek until it terminates.

On the southeast side, the sharp turn immediately adjacent to the bridge would be gone, replaced by a long, sweeping turn leading forest away from the creek bed and then back toward the new bridge, a total of 1,200 feet of new approach.

The approach will also tie into the existing road in a way that allows sightseers to visit the historic bridge.

In all, the FHWA contribution should fund 80 percent of the remaining work to be done on the bridge, which includes construction, utility relocation and inspection. This leaves the county responsible for $1,244,800.

The county has already paid 100 percent of engineering and right-of-way acquisition on the project, a cost of about $950,000.

A federal aid bridge project is a years-long process, with funding and construction unlikely until 2029.

Manhattan Road: The project is aimed at improving safety on the heavily-traveled county road near the old railroad viaduct site at the intersections with County Road 550 South and County Road 575 South.

Located at one of the of the trickier sections of an already narrow and treacherous road, this project would install a more uniform curve with a high-friction surface as well as installing lighting at both crossroads.

Peck has estimated that the project will affect about one mile of roadway.

This is a 90-10 project, though Peck noted that the $2.35 million commitment from INDOT, which administers the federal funds, may not be the final amount. This estimate does not include engineering design or right-of-way acquisition. Once these costs are finalized, INDOT should also fund 90 percent of them as well.

In a commitment letter signed late last year regarding the project, the Putnam County Commissioners pledged $342,970, which would place the total project cost at $3,429,700 and the INDOT/FHWA share in the neighborhood of $3,086,730.

Sign Inventory: The county will hire contractors to drive county roads, examining all of the approximately 5,000 signs on Putnam County roads. In the process, the contractors will test the reflectivity as well as documenting their location on the county Global Information System (GIS).

This will be an eight-month process after which the county would likely apply for further funding to replace some or all of the signs.

This project comes at a total cost of $130,000, with the county committed to contributing $13,000 on top of the $117,000 in FHWA funds.

The Wednesday announcement has no bearing on the Putnam County application for Community Crossings funds, by which the highway department seeks $1.5 million to fund 75 percent of a plan to repave 14.4 miles of road in Franklin, Floyd and Washington townships.

That announcement is expected at the beginning of April.

All told, INDOT awarded $155.6 million in federal transportation funding to 51 cities, towns and counties in rural portions of the state to invest in local road and bridge improvements and sidewalk projects.

Also of local interest, Cloverdale was awarded $506,250 for new and modernized signage.