As many of you know, many roads here in Cass County aren’t the best. Many of you probably have noticed how bad some of the roads are that you regularly take to get to school and other places. I know from my personal experience, a couple of the roads I frequently drive on definitely need to be improved, repaved, or resealed. However, it looks as if there may be improvements coming to some roads here in Cass County.

     Recently, a few communities in Cass County have applied – and are going to receive – just over 2 million dollars in funding that will be invested in our local roads. The state Community Crossing Matching Grant Program is going to fund this money dispersed between Cass County, Galveston, and Walton. The Community Crossing Matching Grant has been providing funding for roads in local communities since 2016. The program is partnered between INDOT and the Hoosier communities. Urban and rural communities contribute to the Community Crossing Matching Grant. There are four different categories that a community may fall under to receive funding from the Community Cross Matching Grant. The smallest towns – or towns with less than 10,000 people – receive funding if they can match it with 75/25%. The next level is for larger towns – or towns with more than 10,000 people – who receive funding if they match the grant of 50/50%. The next two categories are for county size. The first is for the smaller counties. Smaller counties with less than 50,000 people can receive the grant by matching the funding 75/25% also. Lastly, counties with more than 50,000 people can receive the grant by matching it with 50/50%. To apply for the grant, towns or counties must submit four different documents. These documents include a financial commitment letter, detailed estimates, an approval letter from their Indiana LTAP (Local Technical Assistance Program), and a SIA is required for bridges only (Structure Inventory and Appraisal Report). Among the three communities that are receiving the grant in Cass County, Galveston will receive $935, 196, Walton will receive $114, 618, and the county will receive $1 million. Since starting the program in 2016, Community Crossing has awarded various communities around the state with just over 1.27 billion dollars to improve local roads and bridges. Just in 2023 alone, 224 communities in Indiana will receive a total of $133.4 million.

     I’m unsure which roads or bridges will benefit from the funds from this grant. However, I know there will be some roads in the town of Galveston that will benefit from this. Some of the most traveled, and highly trafficked, roads in Galveston are North Street, Lincoln Street, Park Road, and Howard Street. Hopefully, some of the funds will go towards improving some of these roads. So, if you notice some improvements to some of your local roads in the next couple of years, you will know where the funding came from to make these improvements possible.