Hoosiers across Indiana, including in Fishers, rely on safe and reliable roads as an essential resource to live out their daily lives, which is why communities must make crucial road repairs sooner rather than later. To help fuel those projects, Indiana increased transportation funding 76 percent since 2016, with more than $850 million dedicated to roads just this year.
Because of this historic boost in funding, communities can complete these improvement projects faster than anticipated. In Fishers, we are already starting to see some of these repairs and upgrades unfold, from adding turn lanes on Allisonville Road to transforming State Road 37 into an expressway-style thoroughfare.
Fishers is not the only local government to get more money for roads. Through the use of the state’s Community Crossings Matching Grants, Hamilton County received more than $1 million this year to make much needed repairs to local roads and bridges. These dollars are made available through a partnership with Indiana Department of Transportation and local counties, cities and towns. Local governments make a financial commitment to provide matching dollars based on the community size. This allows cities and towns of all sizes to have a chance to receive these state dollars.
We must continue to invest in our infrastructure in order to keep up with ongoing maintenance and improve our quality of life. When job providers look for areas to relocate, they look for cities and towns with strong infrastructure, because employees want to live in areas that are well connected to parks and schools. Strong roads and bridges also help us move from one place to another more efficiently and connects more rural communities to populous cities.
This historic increase in transportation funding is a win for Hamilton County as it will help us make much-needed road repairs faster than anticipated, keep the economic momentum moving forward in Fishers. If you have any feedback on this topic or others, you can contact my office at H37@iga.in.gov.
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State Rep. Todd Huston (R-Fishers) represents House District 37,
which includes portions of Hamilton County.
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