The Bartholomew County Highway Department once again has received almost the maximum amount allowed through a state matching grant program.
Administered by the Indiana Department of Transportation, the Community Crossing program has awarded Bartholomew County $998,577, according to a news release from State Senator Greg Walker, R-Columbus.
That’s just $1,423 less than the $1 million maximum allowed, said county highway engineer Danny Hollander.
In order to qualify for the grant, a county with a population such as Bartholomew (82,753 in 2018) has to agree to match the grant amount on a 50-50 basis. With almost $2 million, Bartholomew County should have enough funds to put a new blacktop on about 18 miles of rural roads.
“But I’m not sure how much more (of the overlay program) we’re going to be able to do anyway,” Hollander said.
Road and bridge funding in Indiana is largely financed by a 30-cent per gallon gasoline excise tax.
Last Monday, Hollander warned that since COVID-19 restrictions have substantially reduced gas consumption, there will likely be less money earmarked for road and bridge repairs later this year.
Only Bartholomew County government received funding in this first of two rounds of matching grants in 2020.
A year ago, Columbus City Engineer and Executive Director of Public Works Dave Hayward said he didn’t apply for first-round funds because they received a large amount during the second round in late 2018.
The same circumstances have surfaced, since the city of Columbus received the maximum $1 million grant from Community Crossings in second round grants late last year.
Although there will likely be less money for rural roads, the lack of “freeze and thaws” over the mild winter has likely minimized the amount of rural road damage, Bartholomew County commissioner chairman Carl Lienhoop said last month.
Decisions regarding which sections of rural roads receive a new layer of asphalt is largely based on a visual inspection of more than 700 miles of county roads and subdivision streets by Bartholomew County Highway superintendent Dwight Smith.
Although Smith’s inspection has been completed, top department personnel have not yet met to prioritize overlay projects and to schedule bidding dates, Hollander said. Due to concern over the COVID-19 virus, he has placed highway workers on a rotating work schedule, which means only about a third of the crew is working at the same time, he said.
“Everything is up in the air right now, since we don’t know what (the current economic situation) will do to our funding,” Hollander said.
One thing that does seem certain — at least right now — is the construction of a new county highway garage east of Petersville this year.
Although groundbreaking has been delayed due to design concerns, “contracts have been awarded, and there’s no going back now,” Hollander said.
While Bartholomew County government was the only grant recipient in this latest round, many of the county’s neighbors did well. Brown and Jackson counties each received $1 million, while the city of Seymour received $999,978.
