INDOT Calls for Rural Road Projects

INDOT Commissioner Brandye Hendrickson announced the funding availability at the Purdue Road School conference in March.

The Indiana Department of Transportation will be accepting applications from rural cities, towns and counties for $80 to $100 million in federal road funding. The agency made the announcement Tuesday at the Purdue Road School conference.

INDOT Commissioner Brandye Hendrickson said the communities can begin submitting their applications late this month. The communities would design, develop and purchase land for projects that would be bid during the fiscal year, beginning in June 2020.

"INDOT sets aside a quarter of its federal-highway funds each year for local transportation projects," said Hendrickson. "Keeping the project pipeline full puts this funding to work in improving quality of life because roads mean jobs."

Hendrickson added that $5 million in federal funding would be made available for sidewalk improvements in rural areas. An additional $2.5 million will be invested each year to improve crosswalks and other sidewalk infrastructure along state highways in rural and urban communities, according to INDOT.

The sidewalk program is part of INDOT’s new Common Paths program, which is designed to unify and implement INDOT’s transportation programs and policies regarding planning and design.