Madison County seeking $10 million for local road safety, projects

Ken de la Bastide, The Herald Bulletin, Anderson, Ind.
·2 min read

Dec. 11—ANDERSON — Madison County is hoping to secure about $10 million for road improvements and safety in funding.

About $5 million is being sought to make county roads safer for motorists, and an additional $4.9 million is sought for infrastructure projects in the county.

County Engineer Jessica Bastin said the county hopes to hear by the end of the year about the $5 million in requests for funding through the Indiana Department of Transportation for safety measures.

"It involves making safety improvements on all county roads and streets, including intersections and railroad crossings," she said, noting that some intersections would be outfitted with rumble strips and stop signs with flashing lights to urge motorists to be cautious.

Reflective paint would be utilized and LED flashing lights would notify motorists of dangerous curves on county roads, Bastin added.

If the safety grant money comes through, the county would also purchase dynamic speed tracking devices to inform motorists of their current speed relative to the posted speed limit.

The $4.9 million federal infrastructure funding requests being sought by county officials include six projects.

Jerry Bridges, executive director of the Madison County Council of Governments, said $2.4 million has been requested to make improvements to Indiana 109 from Indiana 38 north to 67th Street in Anderson.

"We did see an increase in the funding the state gets on an annual basis," Bridges said. "All the funding comes through our agency if it's one of our projects."

One project being completed in phases is on U.S. 36 from Angle Road to the bridge at Fall Creek. The project includes additional travel lanes, a median and sidewalks.

Bridges said $277,698 is being sought to modernize traffic signals in Anderson. The Anderson Redevelopment Commission this year approved $281,000 toward the project, which will be completed in several phases.

City engineer Matt House said the $281,000 was for the first phase and that the city would receive $1.4 million in federal funds for the project, which was started several years ago.

House said the first phase involves replacement of traffic signals and controller units at 11 intersections. The overall project will include upgrading traffic signaling software for 106 signals in use since 1983.

Follow Ken de la Bastide on Twitter @KendelaBastide, or call 765-640-4863.