Community Crossings Grant - DeKalb County Road Improvements

Article by Andy Barrand and Jeff Jones | KPC News | November 6, 2021

INDIANAPOLIS — DeKalb County communities secured over $2.2 million in funding from the state on Wednesday as the Community Crossings grants were distributed.

The $2.2 million was part of $101.9 million in total road funding which was distributed during this grant cycle.

The DeKalb County Highway Department picked up the largest amount at $813,428.77; followed by Garrett with $577,342.50; Auburn with $381,594.40, Ashley with $270,000, Butler with $159,474.71 and St. Joe with $82,614.93 for a total of $2,284,455.31.

DeKalb County Highway Superintendent Ben Parker said the funding from the state is beneficial to the county to help keep its major and minor connectors in good shape.

The county’s $813,428.77 will go toward the resurfacing of over 6 miles of roadway in the southeast section of the county. Work will be focused on C.R. 56 from C.R. 35 to C.R. 51 and C.R. 64 from S.R. 1 to S.R. 101. A short 0.32-mile section on C.R. 60 by Riverdale Elementary will also be resurfaced.

“The binder and surface overlay projects should gain us a lot of longevity on those roads,” Parker said.

Garrett will use its $577,342.50 to resurface and repair 16 different streets in the community, including portions of North Franklin, Railroad, North Lee, North Walsh, Baltimore, High, Covell, Harrison, East Hill, East South, Quincy, Cowen, Keyser, North Harrison, Seventh and Dawson Drive.

Most projects will be milling and resurfacing.

“My reaction is pretty doggone happy,” Mayor Todd Fiandt said. “I wasn’t sure if we were going to get it or how much we would get. I think we got the lion’s share of what we had asked for.

“I was tickled to death. We didn’t get the SWIF (State Water Infrastructure Fund) grant for some sewer work that we wanted to do,” he said. “This, I wouldn’t say made up, but it made me feel a little bit better, since we didn’t get the SWIF grant, we at least got the Community Crossings.”

He hopes to start the street projects in early spring and complete them by the end of summer.

“It depends on the availability of the guys doing the paving,” Fiandt said. “I’m sure they’re all going to be busy.”

Butler has targeted repairs to several streets with its $159,474.71.

“The city is very excited to receive another Community Crossings grant,” Mayor Mike Hartman said. “City Planner Steve Bingham has done a wonderful job prioritizing street projects and making sure the city is well prepared for the grant process.

“We hope the citizens appreciate the investment that the city is doing to upgrade our streets as we continue to build up the city’s infrastructure.”

The awarding of the grant for the City of Auburn will go along way to help the city complete additional work as it will use its $381,594.40 Community Crossing grant monies to repair Union Street. As a separate project, the city will replace sewer lines and water main on Union Street.

Work on the sewer project will begin in 2022.

Mayor Mike Ley said he is hoping the work will be completed in 2022, but said it might not be finished until 2023 with the paving of the roadway from 7th Street to 1st Street.

“We are thankful for receiving the funding,” said Auburn Mayor Mike Ley. “It allows us to leverage our money to get so much more accomplished.”

The mayor said the city is continually working hard to pursue Community Crossing Grants to make the most of its money. The grants allow the city to use its money for repairs that aren’t covered under the grant’s stipulations.

St. Joe plans to use the $82,614.93 it received toward repairs of School Street between C.R. 60 and Jefferson Street, and Jefferson between Spencer and 4th streets, Clerk-Treasurer Angela Snyder said.

In Ashley, Clerk-Treasurer Karen McEntarfer said the monies definitely help small communities keep their roadways in good condition. This round’s grant is the sixth the small town on the DeKalb/Steuben County border has received since 2016.

She said without the funding, the community wouldn’t have the money to do many of its projects. Small communities only have to come up with a 25% match, which goes a long way in those communities with small budgets.

Ashley will be upgrading the curbs and sidewalks along Adams Court, Franklin Court and Lincoln Street along with installing ADA-compliant ramps. The upgrades will include the resurfacing of the concrete surfaces along the roadway.

In 2020, the town received the top grant amount, $1 million, which paid for a portion of the new roadway leading to Brightmark. The town also received federal funding for the project.

McEntarfer said crews are still working on the infrastructure project as contractors are waiting on parts for the water and sewer infrastructure. Once the water and sewer infrastructure is in place, the road will be paved.

She is hoping weather will permit the road to be completed yet this year before winter.

Article source: https://www.kpcnews.com/thestar/article_b4e7018d-e559-5a7f-a0c3-7ed97e827b5e.html