The state plans to spend nearly $36.3 million to resurface roads and replace or repair bridges along the 169 miles of state and federal highways in Jackson County over the next five years.
That investment was announced Thursday by Gov. Eric Holcomb, who unveiled his Next Level Indiana Plan during a news conference in Indianapolis.
The $4.7 billion statewide program of state and federal road and bridge projects will be funded in part by a 10-cent-a-gallon gasoline tax hike and a $15 increase in the cost of vehicle registrations put in place July 1 by the Indiana General Assembly.
The projects on the list include efforts to rehab 1,295 bridges, resurface 9,628 miles of road and add an additional 122 miles of roadway across the state. One major project is completing the remaining miles of Interstate 69, which will provide a direct route from Evansville to Indianapolis.
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“This transformational infrastructure program will be the largest nonstop sustainable building program that our state has ever seen,” Holcomb said. “We’re fixing things. And we’re doing it now. And we’re paying for it now.”
Holcomb’s plan also includes an additional $342 million for local road projects, according to figures provided by his office.
The largest project in Jackson County will involve the replacement of pavement on Tipton Street (U.S. 50) between Agrico Lane and U.S. 31 in Seymour. That project, which is scheduled for 2019, has a $9.5 million price tag.
Seymour city officials have known the project was coming for about three years, said city engineer Nathan Frey. Holcomb’s announcement just solidifies the funding and timeline, he said.
Replacing the pavement on that stretch of Tipton will make the road stronger to better handle the heavy traffic flow and will help with traffic congestion when it’s completed, Frey said.
The eastbound and westbound bridges over Sandy Branch also will be widened during construction.
Although the city will not have to pay for any of that work, city officials have agreed to fund a pedestrian and bike trail along the route that will be installed at the same time.
Frey said another change that will have an impact on motorists in Seymour is making improvements to the Interstate 65 and U.S. 50 interchange.
“There’s been concern that a cloverleaf is functionally obsolete,” he said of the current design of the Seymour interchange. “There are several people who want something new there.”
Reconfiguring the interchange is not part of any planned project for now or in the future, he said, but work will be done in 2020 to make the ramps safer.
“All this is doing is extending the acceleration lanes when you get on to give that person longer to merge,” Frey said.
Over major projects include $4.66 million for superstructure replacement of a bridge on U.S. 31 over the Muscatatuck River, three-tenths of a mile north of I-65 (2021); $2.11 million for repaving of State Road 446 in Lawrence County to State Road 135 (2020); $1.86 million for a sight distance improvement project on State Road 258 between Base Road and County Road 100E (2018); and $1.85 million for replacement of a bridge on State Road 258 over Indian Creek, 3.67 miles west of State Road 11 (2019).
Overall, the plan for Jackson County calls for 50 lane miles to be federal and state highways to be resurfaced or replaced and 21 bridges to be rehabilitated or replaced between 2018 and 2022.
In 2018, the plan calls for $3.466 million to be spent on projects in the county, and in 2019, $9.53 million will be spent for projects. Nearly $14 million projects are on the books for 2022.
County Councilman Brian Thompson said the state’s decision to invest in infrastructure such as roads and bridges is an important part of the effort to attract new business and industry to the county.
Over the years, the county highway department has worked to improve the county’s nearly 732 miles of streets and roads, Thompson said.
“We have our roads in good shape, and if the primary roads and bridges aren’t, it doesn’t do a lot of good,” he said.
Thompson said funding for road and bridge maintenance tends to go up and down in cycles, and he’s glad the state is looking ahead a little more this time.
“I just hope they do it wisely,” he said.
State District 69 Rep. Jim Lucas, R-Seymour, said the funding was made available thanks to a responsible and comprehensive plan passed by the legislature this session.
“These local improvements will help keep Hoosiers safe as they travel on our roadways, while also helping to secure Indiana’s position as the Crossroads of America,” Lucas said.
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Year;Route;Location;Work type;Cost estimate
2018;Interstate 65;5.29 miles north of State Road 250 (southbound) at Mutton Creek Ditch;Scour protection (erosion);$97,388
2018;Interstate 65;5.29 miles south of State Road 250 at Mutton Creek Ditch (northbound);Scour protection (erosion);$97,388
2018;State Road 135;0.96 miles south of U.S. 50 over Hough Creek;Bridge deck overlay;$661,408
2018;State Road 135;0.12 miles north of U.S. 50 over Wayman Ditch;Bridge removal;$1,464,330
2018;State Road 235;2.43 miles north of State Road 135 at East Fork White River;Bridge deck overlay;$617,545
2018;State Road 235;5;5.80 miles north of State Road 135;Small structure replacement;$737,314
2018;State Road 250;1.40 miles east of U.S. 50;Small structure replacement with bridge;$402,982
2018;State Road 258;from Base Road to County Road 100E;Sight distance improvement;$1,860,526
2018;State Road 258;east of State Road 58, 0.26 miles east of Baseline Road;Small structure replacement;$379,301
2018;State Road 258;2.43 miles east of State Road 58;Small structure replacement;$407,206
2018;State Road 258;4.73 miles east of State Road 58;Small structure replacement;$335,000
2018;U.S. 50;0.45 mile west of State Road 135 over Smallwood Ditch;Bridge deck replacement;$1,300,000
2018;U.S. 50;0.45 mile west of State Road 135 over Smallwood Ditch;Bridge painting;$289,485
2018;U.S. 50;1.02 miles west of State Road 135;Bridge replacement concrete;$1,101,455
2019;State Road 235;1.65 miles west of State Road 135;Small structure replacement;$405,031
2019;State Road 258;3.67 miles west of State Road 11 over Indian Creek;Replace superstructure;$1,851,500
2019;State Road 58;0.81 mile west of State Road 258 over Brushy Creek;Bridge replacement, concrete;$530,200
2019;U.S. 31;2.02 miles south of State Road 250 at Grassy Creek;Bridge replacement;$993,8450
2019;U.S. 31;2.93 miles south of State Road 250 at Blau Ditch;Bridge deck overlay;$1,000,000
2019;U.S. 31;1.06 mile north of I-65 at Mutton Creek Ditch;Bridge deck overlay;$1,615,026
2019;U.S. 31;4.11 miles north of State Road 250 over I-65;Replace Superstructure;$1,703,000
2019;U.S. 31;1.13 miles north of State Road 250 over unnamed tributary to Vernon Fork Muscatatuck River;Small structure replacement; $570,000
2019;U.S. 31;2.58 miles north of U.S. 50;Small structure replacement;$567,000
2019;U.S. 50;Eastbound bridge over Sandy Branch;0.46 mile west of I-65;bridge widening;$286,186
2019;U.S. 50;Westbound bridge over Sandy Branch;0.46 mile west of I-65;Bridge widening;$286,186
2019;U.S. 50;0.2 mile east of Agrico Lane to U.S. 31;Pavement replacement; $9,500,000
2020;State Road 135;5.16 north of State Road 58 over Little Salt Creek;Bridge deck overlay;$625,000
2020;Interstate 65;U.S. 50 interchange;Auxiliary lanes, acceleration, deceleration or turn lanes;$382,582
2020;State Road 135;2.72 miles north of State Road 58 at Kiper Creek;Bridge replacement, concrete;$608,098
2020;State Road 135;2.13 miles north of State Road 58 over Kiper Creek;Replace superstructure;$1,166,399
2020;State Road 250;1.86 miles west of U.S. 31 over Vernon Fork Muscatatuck River;Bridge replacement;$1,542,000
2020;State Road 250;1.92 miles east of State Road 11 at Rider Ditch;Replace superstructure; $1,131,650
2020;State Road 250;From U.S. 31 to 0.35 mile east of I-65;Road reconstruction;$593,500
2020;State Road 250;2.25 miles east of State Road 39;Small structure replacement;$180,500
2020;State Road 250;Over Pond Creek, 3.20 miles east of State Road 39;Small structure replacement;$178,000
2020;State Road 250;Over Vernon Fork Muscatatuck River overflow;1.68 miles east of State Road 11;Small structure replacement;$174,000
2020;State Road 258;2.50 miles west of State Road 11 over East Fork White River;Bridge painting;$535,000
2020;State Road 58;From State Road 446 to State Road 135;Overlay and preventive maintenance;$2,115,525
2020;State Road 58;Over unnamed tributary to Buck Creek 4.14 miles east of State Road 258;Small structure replacement;$175,917
2020;U.S. 31;1.06 miles north of I-65 over Mutton Creek Ditch;Bridge painting;$475,000
2021;Interstate 65;5.07 miles north of State Road 256;Small structure pipe lining;$341,500
2021;State Road 135;4.79 miles north State Road 135 and U.S. 50;Box culvert replacement;$412,000
2021;State Road 39;3.89 miles south of State Road 250 over Pond Creek;Replace superstructure;$821,523.00
2021;State Road 58;4.14 miles east of State Road 258;Small structure replacement;cost not listed
2021;U.S. 31;6.75 miles north of U.S. 50;Small structure maintenance and repair;$493,806.00
2021;U.S. 31;0.30 mile north of I-65;Superstructure replacement;$4,663,000
2022;State Road 58;1.89 miles east of State Road 258;Bridge replacement;$565,000
2022;State Road 58;2.28 miles east of State Road 258;Bridge replacement;$549,000
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For information on the project, visit in.gov/indot/div/nextlevel.
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