Newsletter: Community Crossings Second Call for Projects

Cities and towns in Indiana should not delay application preparations for the Community Crossings Matching Grants (CCMG) program, even with the national and state economies on hold due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

A second Call for Projects is expected in July. An estimated $100 million will be available for communities in the second round of the Next Level Roads: Community Crossings Initiative.

Prior to applying for up to a $1 million grant, cities and towns will need to update their Transportation Asset Management Plan (TAMP) and get approval from the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP).

The CCMG, established by the Indiana General Assembly in 2016, provides funding for infrastructure projects that strengthen local transportation networks and improving Indiana roads and bridges. The state last month awarded $126.5 million.

The City of Rushville was among the first round CCMG winners. It received $713,025 for a culvert replacement project and two additional road improvement projects.

“This is huge for improving our infrastructure needs,” said Mike Pavey, Rushville’s mayor. “The bridge/culvert being replaced had become a public safety concern in a school zone.”

The project also includes sidewalks across the bridge/culvert which will allow trail connectivity. The increased width of the traffic lane will also ease safety for bus transportation.

Since the CCMG’s inception, $738.5 million in state funds have been awarded to support local road and bridge projects. For smaller communities like Rushville, with a population less than 10,000, the local match is only 25 percent.

“The matching grant percent adjustment, made back in 2017, has allowed us to get the most leverage for our limited funds,” Pavey said. “This program has been critical for rural communities to expand new needs and maintaining our road surfaces.”

NOW IS THE TIME TO WORK ON APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS
Projects eligible for funding through Community Crossings include road and bridge preservation projects with Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliance in connection with these projects. Material costs for chip sealing and crack filing operations are also eligible for funding. Eligible construction projects should be ready for the bid process and must be closed out within 1 ½ years.

INDOT requires a community-wide study that evaluates the condition of your road network. From that study you can prioritize exactly what improvements are needed year-by-year for the next five years.

The TAMP must be risk-based and should contain the following elements:
Summary listing of the community’s pavement and bridge assets and conditions
Asset management objectives and measures
Performance gap identification
Lifecycle cost and risk management analysis
A financial plan and investment strategies

The pavement asset inventory includes a listing of all the street ratings, year rated, functional classifications, surface types, lengths and widths, and identifies drainage and right-of-way issues.

The TAMP plan, which takes two to four weeks to complete, also requires developing proposed road treatments for the next five years including cost estimates per mile, the number of miles, and the total costs.

The first step toward putting together an Asset Management Plan is completing a PASER, an acronym for Pavement Surface Evaluation and Rating System. A PASER study involves visually evaluating every street in the community and rating the surface condition of each road segment on a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being a pavement in a failed condition and 10 being a pavement in excellent condition.

F&V also recommends communities look at the underground assets in the right of way before doing a road project to minimize digging up roads after they are rebuilt. Sewer and Water Asset Management Plans and ADA Transitions Plans should be completed at the same time and factored into the decision on which roads to pave. Storm sewers and ditch reconstruction associated with a specific road resurfacing or reconstruction project are CCMG eligible along with pipe replacements to improve drainage.

F&V staff have assisted several communities in the Community Crossings Grant Program since its inception. The applications take time to complete, so don’t wait.

If you need help in your Community Crossings grant application or want to brainstorm on how to put the funding together, contact Troy Stahl at 800.494.5202 or tstahl@fveng.com.