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Counties Feel Ignored In State's Infrastructure Conversation

As legislators debate the best way to improve infrastructure, counties throughout Indiana are worried they're being left out of the conversation.

Gov. Mike Pence recently announced a plan to spend $1 billion on road and bridge improvements over the next four years.

But none of that money will be used on local roads.

That has cash-strapped counties worried about how they'll maintain the majority of Indiana's pavement as funding continues to decline.

Gov. Pence's Plan Focuses On INDOT Roads



You could say farming is in Mike Sprinkle's blood.

"I grew up with it, I grew up around it," Sprinkle says.

He harvests corn and soybeans for the food industry in Plainville. And when he's not in his fields, he's on the road – traveling on state and county pavement daily.

"They both lack a lot to be desired," Sprinkle says.

All the counties from what I hear are basically doing everything they can to get by.

-Jason Heile, Daviess County Engineer



That's a sentiment that's been shared across the state in recent weeks as legislators spar over the best way to address Indiana's future infrastructure needs. The governor's plan only covers state roads.

"While our bridges are currently above the national average of 94 percent in fair or better condition, this plan would take Indiana's bridges to over 97 percent over a period of time," Pence said at an announcement earlier this month.

The plan would be funded through reserves, new and refinanced bonds and future state budgets.

The Indiana Department of Transportation told legislators earlier this month it needs an additional $250 million per year just to maintain roads. They spend about $1 billion per year on road funding.

All of the money outlined in the governor's plan would go to INDOT.

And that has some cities and counties upset.

"Our funding sources with inflation have gone down over the last 10, 12 years and all the counties from what I hear are basically doing everything they can to get by," says Jason Heile, Daviess County Engineer and President of the Indiana Association of County Engineers and Supervisors.

Local Governments Struggling To Maintain Roads



The majority of Indiana's pavement is maintained by city and county governments, which get most of their infrastructure funding through the gas tax.

In rural Daviess County, the highway department takes care of about 900 roads – and only one-third of them are paved.

With more traffic coming through the area because of I-69, county officials would like to convert some of their 600 gravel roads to pavement. But they barely have enough funding to keep the gravel roads in decent shape.

"You've got houses that are on the gravel roads, the dust starts to fly and if you live in those areas or you're driving behind somebody it can be pretty dangerous," Heile says.

The problems for larger communities like Bloomington and Kokomo are different - they're focused on improving paved roads and trying to address increasing demand for bike lanes.

But officials say the funding issues are the same.

"People - when they drive - they drive on county roads or city roads more than they spend miles on a highways," says Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight. "So I think it's very lopsided and we're all disappointed that there was no money pushed in that direction."

One of the issues with developing solutions for local road funding is it's unclear just how much money it would take to address.

Legislators mandated a study of the state's infrastructure funding, but it focused solely on INDOT roads.

And the Indiana Local Technical Assistance Program hasn't done a local roads needs assessment since 2009.

Several statewide construction and engineering organizations estimate Indiana needs to invest an additional $500 million in local roads – a figure that would allow communities to maintain existing infrastructure.

"It's a problem in this state," Goodnight says. "We're expanding some roads while we're neglecting others."

Back in Daviess County, officials are bracing themselves for the busy winter season, when roads can take a major beating.

That's when Mike Sprinkle will log a lot of time behind the wheel transporting grain.

And he's hoping sometime soon his ride will get a lot less bumpy.

"As a local taxpayer and farmer that uses a lot of state and county roads around here it's just harder and harder to fund roads and maintain them properly," Sprinkle says. "And seems to me as if INDOT gets extra it seems that local governments and counties should get a little bit of piece of that pie also."

Legislators have vowed to talk more about infrastructure during the upcoming legislative session.

They would have to approve most of the money for the governor's plan. There are some legislators from both parties who disagree with the funding formula the governor wants to use.

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