Local roads, bridges need billions of dollars a year over the next decade to maintain conditions

It will likely cost Indiana’s local governments nearly $2 billion a year over the next decade just to maintain roads and bridges in the condition they’re in now.

And there’s a nearly $1 billion gap between that need and current funding levels.

Roads and bridges maintained by local governments account for 85 percent of the total lane miles in the state. Currently, 31 percent of city and town roads are in poor condition, while 27 percent of county roads are poor.

Those numbers come from the Local Technical Assistance Program (LTAP) at Purdue University, which works with almost every local government in the state to study its roads.

READ MORE: How are state roads funded and maintained?

Join the conversation and sign up for the Indiana Two-Way. Text “Indiana” to 765-275-1120. Your comments and questions in response to our weekly text help us find the answers you need on statewide issues and the election, including our project Civically, Indiana.

LTAP also prepared the funding estimates for maintaining and improving local road conditions, as Jennifer Sharkey, lead research engineer, told lawmakers.

“And identified a funding gap of $987 million to upwards of $2.41 billion annually for the next ten years,” Sharkey said.

That’s as the Indiana Department of Transportation expects the purchasing power of transportation revenue to steadily decrease over the next two decades.

Brandon is our Statehouse bureau chief. Contact him at bsmith@ipbs.org or follow him on Twitter at @brandonjsmith5.