HANCOCK COUNTY — The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) recently announced that they were able to award 51 cities, towns and counties in the state with $155.6 million with Hancock County receiving more than $7 million to help fund local road and bridge improvements.
The press release from INDOT explained that these federal transportation funds are to help communities rehabilitate or replace local bridges and that INDOT continues to partner with local governments in taking care of their existing roads.
According to the spreadsheet shared by INDOT, Hancock County received $533,600 for a local bridge project on CR 900N and $2,632,264 for an intersection improvement project at CR 300S.
Gary Pool, Hancock County engineer, said they plan to install a roundabout at Meridian and CR 300S for this intersection improvement project.
Along with bridge and intersection improvements, the county also received $4,320,000 to help fund the extension of Pennsy Trail from CR 150W to CR 300W.
“Greenfield will go all the way to Indy,” Pool wrote in an email, referring to how far Pennsy Trail will reach.
Pool said these projects are planned to be built in 2029-30.
INDOT said in its press release that while this latest round of funding is dedicated to construction, they will also financially participate in design, engineering and right-of-way acquisition components.
Of the $155.6 million, approximately $90.3 million was awarded to help communities rehabilitate or replace bridges currently in poor condition. Beyond bridges, the other funds will “ support pavement resurfacing/reconstruction projects; Transportation Alternative Program (TAP) projects such as sidewalks, ADA ramps, and trails; and traffic safety projects.”
INDOT said that they dedicate approximately 25% of federal highway funds to supporting local projects each year, and that communities need to contribute at least 20% in local matching funds and meet other requirements in order to receive the federal funding.
In total, Hancock County received $7,485,864 to help fund these projects — the fourth highest amount awarded, following Montgomery and Boone counties and the city of Lebanon.
