STATEHOUSE (April 9, 2020) – Decatur was recently awarded $812,094 in state matching grants to bolster road and bridge improvements, according to State Rep. Matt Lehman (R-Berne).
This local funding is part of the most recent round of Community Crossings Matching Grants made available through the Indiana Department of Transportation as a result of a law Lehman supported in 2016. In this round, over 200 cities, towns and counties throughout the state received a combined total of $126.5 million.
"Since this program launched, more than $3.7 million has been awarded to Adams County and its communities," Lehman said. "This money goes a long way in helping our rural area complete much-needed road projects. In fact, the program was intentionally designed to help smaller towns pay for infrastructure improvements, and INDOT is already working on the next round of funding for the state."
Lehman said an estimated $100 million will be available for communities opting to apply for these grants during the July 2020 call for projects. He said grants can be used toward road and bridge preservation, road reconstruction, intersection improvements, guardrail replacements and signage.
To qualify, smaller communicates provide a match of 25% in local funds, while larger communities provide a 50% match. To ensure rural areas benefit from the program, state law requires half of the available matching funds each year be awarded to communities within counties with a population of 50,000 or fewer.
In total, more than $738 million has been distributed for local road projects through the Community Crossings program.
More information about the program and the next round of funding can be found at www.in.gov/indot.
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State Rep. Matt Lehman (R-Berne) represents House District 79,
which includes all of Adams County and portions of Allen and Wells counties.
Click here to download a high-resolution photo.
