Indiana Road Headache - Follow the Money Honey

Indiana drivers are having stress meltdowns from all of the road construction these days. Everywhere you turn; oh wait, you can't turn there because it's blocked. Same scenario, different Indiana city or town. East, West, North and South. Highways, main roads, and back roads, all seem to be "under construction?"

What is going on? Orange cones, barrels, detour signs and lit arrows seem to be the decorative motif for 2024. The more I thought about it, I knew this was more than a coincidence. As always, follow the money honey and you'll find the answer. And that's what I did. 

I conducted a little research, with the help from my handy dandy search engine co-hart and wa la, what do you know, mystery solved. 

The Indiana Department of Transportation (INDOT) increased their Community Crossing Matching Grant from 1.0 to 1.5 million for 2024. This grant began in 2016 and has specific limitations, restrictions and requirements. One such requirement is that funds must be used by the end of the year received or be returned. Ah, you see it too, don't you? The picture is beginning to get just a bit clearer. As an example, Vanderburgh County received $1,064,117.75. (To view the full amounts received by county, click here.) Each project has a maximum allowance, hence the number of projects. Local governments can use money allocated for roads and bridges, or transfer funds to cover matching grant costs. There are many stipulations such as CCMG funds are for construction ONLY.

Let's face it, our roads were a mess before construction and funding to improve them is a GOOD thing. It's the failure to develop a solid traffic routing plan that should be reevaluated during the next go-around. That said, the 2025 CCMG grant cycle opens January 2nd and closes January 31. The bar has been raised. Time to do a better job with traffic organization, and then we have a win-win! 

To learn more about CCMG grants, click HERE. 

Idea credit to reader, Sunday!