Indiana awards $84M in infrastructure grants, governor calls for long-term road funding solution

By Ben Thorp, WFYI | Published on in Economy, Government, Transportation
A red truck drives down a road in the rain. To the left of the truck is orange construction cones and road work equipment
Indiana roads have gotten more dangerous for pedestrians as well as motorists. (Adam Pinsker, WFIU/WTIU News)

Gov. Mike Braun announced $84 million in infrastructure grants Tuesday to 147 cities and counties across Indiana.

The matching funds are intended to bolster investment in local bridge and road projects. The state awarded over $165 million in infrastructure grants this year.

Speaking at an event in Crawfordsville, Braun said good roads are essential to supporting economic growth.

“Every one of our counties is going to get attention to the extent maybe they haven’t in the past, and infrastructure is the place where it shows up most visibly,” he said.

The Community Crossings Grant program is now roughly a decade old and has provided local governments millions to address needed infrastructure improvements. Braun noted he was serving in the state legislature at the time of its passage.

Braun also acknowledged that the state will have to figure out more long-term road funding solutions during the next legislative session.

Read More: Governor directs state to reimburse local governments for gas tax holiday revenue

“We’re the crossroads of America,” he said. “We’ve got more interstates lacing through our state than any other state, kind of per square mile, and that’s a whole other issue in terms of how we maintain them and infrastructure and how we raise funds to do it.”

Contact Government Reporter Benjamin Thorp at bthorp@wfyi.org

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