Elkhart council approves $4.65 million in matching funds for Bristol Street widening, plus two matching-grant appropriations

The Elkhart City Council on a 8-1 vote on third reading approved an ordinance appropriating $4,650,337 in matching funds for the Bristol Street widening project and, earlier in the meeting, unanimously passed two related matching-grant appropriations totaling about $1.2 million for the city’s Community Crossings projects.

The measures matter because they together provide the local match required to unlock state and federal grant dollars for paving and the multiyear Bristol Street widening, a major local road project that the city says has been in planning since 2019.

Council action and key votes

- Proposed ordinance 25-O-01, appropriating $425,000 from the riverboat gaming fund to the local road and bridge matching grant fund (Community Crossings match), passed on third reading, 9-0.

- Proposed ordinance 25-O-02, appropriating $777,672.50 from the local road and bridge matching grant fund for the 2025 contract paving project under the Community Crossings Matching Grant Program, passed on third reading, 9-0.

- Proposed ordinance 25-O-03-R, the ordinance appropriating $4,650,337 in matching funds for the Bristol Street widening project (the revised amount from an earlier larger figure), passed on third and final reading, 8-1. Councilman Hankey cast the lone vote against the final Bristol Street appropriation.

Officials’ explanations and timeline

Jeff Schafer, assistant city engineer, described the first two appropriations as the local matching component for Community…