Pleasant grant

More than $2 million worth of paving work was already planned for Jay County this year.

That number has jumped even higher.

Jay County engineer Dan Watson was notified Tuesday by Indiana Department of Transportation that the county has been awarded nearly $550,000 in Community Crossings grant funds to help pave Mount Pleasant Road.

Watson explained Tuesday afternoon that the $548,250 grant, which requires a 25-percent match of $182,750 from the county, will pay for paving the entirety of Mount Pleasant Road. It runs from county road 200 South to Como Road.

He plans to bid the project in April, with paving to be complete this year. He said the stretch was next on his list of roads in need.

“I’ve been here 30 years, and I’m trying to get major roads that haven’t had anything done to them since I’ve been here, other than chip and seal,” he said. “That’s why I wanted to get Boundary Pike done. That’s what I’m focusing on.” 

The Boundary Pike work, which began in the fall and will be completed this spring, was also made possible by a Community Crossings grant. It involves paving from the southern city limits of Portland to county road 300 East.

That grant will also be used for paving county road 500 West from Indiana 26 to county road 200 South.

Watson said the Community Crossings grant program, in addition to extra funds coming in for the highway department because of the 2017 gas tax increase, has allowed the county to get more road work done. He explained that with a limited budget and an average cost of about $125,000 per mile for paving, it was previously difficult to address long sections of road.

“This Community Crossings is helping get some of these major long stretches of road done,” he said. “It’s nice to be able to get complete stretches of road done. That’s definitely made a big difference.”

He added that Como Road is next on his list, with plans to apply for additional Community Crossings funds late this year or in early 2020.

None of the Jay County municipalities applied for funding during the current cycle after most received grants during the last round. Adams County was awarded $976,148.62 and Wells County received $956,534.89.

The grant that was awarded Tuesday brings the county’s total of planned paving for the year to $2.97 million. In addition to the county work, Dunkirk ($432,417), Bryant ($231.059.56), Salamonia (171,798.56), Pennville ($198,719.06) and Portland ($59,367.86) have projects scheduled for this year with three-quarters of the funding coming from Community Crossings grants.

The largest impact will come in Salamonia, where virtually every road will be repaved. Work in Bryant will involved all of Elm and Meridian streets, Bryant Pike and Belgian Lane, and parts of Main, Railroad, Wilson, Francis, Malin and Walnut streets. Parts of Washington, Meridian, Liberty and Main streets will be paved in Pennville.

Dunkirk’s work involves paving and sidewalk improvements for Commerce, Washington and Lincoln streets, as well as paving on Highland Avenue and Barbier Street. In Portland, all of Bridge Street, Meadow Lane, Hickory Court and Rayburn Drive will be repaved, in addition to sections of Commerce, Middle, Pleasant, Ship and Walnut streets and Floral Avenue.