By SCOTT SMITH, Kokomo Tribune staff writer
scott.smith@kokomotribune.com
State officials Friday announced Indiana will receive $658 million from the federal stimulus bill for highway construction, and local officials are awaiting word on their share.
The Kokomo/Howard County area should receive about $3 million to spend on road projects, according to Larry Ives, director the Kokomo/Howard County Governmental Coordinating Council.
That money is slated for the northernmost stretch of the Dixon Road widening project, but it also means the city and county will have $3 million freed up for other projects, Ives said.
Then there are individual projects that the Indiana Department of Transportation is greenlighting as soon as they are ready to bid.
So far Kokomo hasn't had any projects on the two lists released by the state, but that's simply a matter of timing.
The words "shovel ready" have entered the popular lexicon as the stimulus bill has become a reality.
And the projects furthest along in terms of engineering and securing right-of-way seem to be the first tabbed for funding.
Jane Jankowski, spokesperson for Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels, said the state's priority in selecting projects for stimulus funding "have been speed and jobs."
"The two lists INDOT has put out are meeting both of those priorities," Jankowski said Friday. "And already, with those two lists, we're reaching about 40 percent of the state."
Of the $658 million coming to Indiana, the state will get to decide how to spend $440 million, and another $198 million will go directly to local government. Another $20 million is set aside for "transportation enhancement projects" such as sidewalks, trails and stoplights.
Along with the stimulus funding, Indiana's Major Moves project will continue to fund road construction, Jankowski noted.
Major Moves money, from the lease of the Indiana Toll Road, is still expected to fund the $350 million Kokomo Corridor Project. That work has already started, and 13 separate contracts will be bid during the estimated four- to five-year lifespan of the project.
The state has until June 30 to "obligate" half of its stimulus money to specific projects, and until March 2, 2010 to obligate the rest. Local governments must obligate their share of the $198 million by March 2, 2010.
That means Kokomo and other counties not yet ready to put projects out for bid must do a considerable amount of engineering work in the coming months.
U.S. Rep. Joe Donnelly, D-Granger, also reminded Daniels this week the stimulus bill requires states to give priority to projects in "distressed areas."
"As you are aware, many of the communities in north central Indiana are suffering a disproportionate burden resulting from recent changes in economic conditions," Donnelly wrote in a Feb. 24 letter to Daniels. "I respectfully request both you and [the commissioner of INDOT] give the above factors careful consideration as you begin to make decisions."
Kokomo Mayor Greg Goodnight said Friday he agreed with Donnelly's reminder to the governor.
"I don't know if [Kokomo] is a 'distressed' area, but if you look at the unemployment numbers, obviously funds should be partly targeted toward our area," Goodnight said.
Donnelly also announced earlier in the week he is seeking a $1.25 million earmark to improve the Park Avenue/Markland Avenue intersection.
The intersection funding is in the $410 billion spending bill passed by the U.S. House last week, and is now pending before the Senate.
Earmark spending remains a contentious subject, however, and Goodnight said he's aware the bill could be cut by the time the bill reaches President Barack Obama's desk.
If the money stays in the bill, it would pay both to move the Markland/Park intersection farther to the east. City officials have discussed turning the intersection - which has a high accident rate and constant congestion - into a roundabout.
"The Park Avenue and Markland Avenue intersection has needed an upgrade for years," city engineer Carey Stranahan said Friday. "The project will improve the safety and efficiency of the intersection, as well as help prepare the Continental Steel Site for future redevelopment."
Stranahan said the city would prepare a cost-analysis to help decide whether to install a roundabout or a traffic signal.
"A roundabout might work because you have about an equal amount of traffic coming from all four directions, but the volume varies quite a bit during the course of a day," said Stranahan. "A signal wouldn't be able to optimize all of the different traffic volumes as well."