Indiana county roads may get facelift

Indiana counties could receive up to $68.15 million each of the next two years to repair and improve their roads, according to a press release issued by the Association of Indiana Counties.

The 2013 Indiana House Ways and Means committee recently passed the 2013 state budget, which appropriates $250 million more for road maintenance each year of the biennium.

The new budget will change the way sales and use taxes are distributed, but revenue should stay the same.

All gas taxes will be directed to funding for roads, instead of dividing the money between multiple organizations such as the Indiana State Police and the Bureau of Motor Vehicles. 1.5 percent of sales tax revenue will also go toward roads.

The Indiana Department of Transportation is expected to receive $56.7 million more in fiscal year 2014 and $59 million more in fiscal year 2015.

Bill Williams, director of Monroe County Highway Engineering, said the state’s road programs have been lacking money for years, with funding staying at 2002 levels.

He said the county will be able to resurface roads, rather than just do pothole patching.

John Chambers, superintendent of the Monroe County Highway Maintenance Facility, said the additional money would be used for many different projects but foremost to buy new equipment vehicles. From there, they would work to expand their existing resources.

The county currently has a budget of $800,000 a year to pave roads. Chambers said it costs $50,000 to $60,000 to pave one mile. He said no specific area of the county is worse off than any other.

“We try to maintain everything evenly,” he said.

For years, the county has not had sufficient funds to meet its road maintenance needs, he said, and the added money is greatly needed.

“I just hope it becomes reality that we get it,” he said.

— Sydney Murray