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October 30, 2009

Stimulus funding local roads

By Jesse Davis

The $700 billion federal stimulus plan will soon make an impact on the streets of Goshen.

Along with the $5.5 million received for the city’s massive combined sewer overflow elimination project, nearly $662,000 in American Recovery and Reinvestment Act funds have been approved for city paving projects. The first of those projects were awarded to Niblock Excavating by the Board of Public Works and Safety last week.

The Bristol-based company will repave Bashor Road from Reliance Road to U.S. 33 at a cost of $379,217 — entirely funded by ARRA monies. Also, the company will install sidewalks along New York Street and 11th Street at a cost of $209,790 — just over $78,000 of which will be ARRA-funded. Along with design costs on the Bashor Road project, the city has spent a little more than $500,000 of its allocation.

The city and other ARRA recipients are benefiting from another angle as well, with projects coming in below estimates. Goshen has seen bids averaging 30 percent below estimates, according to Civil City Engineer Mary Cripe. Due to the lower project costs, the regional planning agency that distributes the funds, the Michiana Area Council of Governments, has asked member governments to put together alternate projects for possible additional ARRA funds.

Requirements on the funds, although unchanged from previous allocations, are complicated, Cripe said.

“There are only certain streets that you can use the funding on — they have to be collector or arterial streets,” Cripe said. “A lot of people say ‘Why don’t you do Chicago Avenue or different areas that have potholes in them?’ But the majority of our streets are classified as local streets.”

Many of Goshen’s collector and arterial streets have recently been repaved and do not require additional work. So when Cripe and the engineering staff submitted their list of additional projects, they had to dig around.

On that list are Lincoln Avenue from Indiana Avenue to Chicago Avenue, $149,947; Dierdorff Road from C.R. 40 to Kercher Road, $187,213; Clinton Street from Tanglewood Drive to Greene Road, $242,168; and Middlebury Street from Main Street to Zollinger Road, $268,887.

“I’m pretty sure, with the bids continuing to come in a lot lower, we might get two or three of these alternates, if not all four, which would be great,” Cripe said. “I would be totally elated if we get to do all of these projects.”

Based on their ARRA submissions, MACOG receives a chunk of money, which is then split between Elkhart and St. Joseph counties. In Elkhart County, that money is split again between the cities of Elkhart and Goshen.

Mayor Allan Kauffman is pleased with the federal funds the city has received thus far.

“What those stimulus dollars are doing is allowing us to stretch our paving dollars a little further,” Kauffman said. “It frees up the money we would use on those streets for more of the side streets and lesser streets.”

He gave Cripe much of the credit.

“I think, because she was on her toes, the city of Goshen got at least its fair share,” Kauffman said.

According to Cripe, the city will find out which projects make it on MACOG’s January letting after another letting in December.

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