St. Joseph County's Engineering and Transportation Committee voted to send several funding moves and appropriations to the full council, including $679,000 in transfers, a $2.5 million appropriation covering bridge maintenance and paving, and a $39,250 purchase request for survey equipment.

Skye Madder, speaking for the Department of Infrastructure, Planning and Growth (IPG), said the $679,000 transfer would move unused salary funds from an unfilled highway engineering construction supervisor position into consulting, contractual services and equipment lines and shift leftover funds from a completed Douglas Road project to the Bittersweet-Douglas roundabout project. Madder said officials hope to acquire right-of-way and begin utility relocation by next year.

The committee also approved an appropriation request of $2.5 million drawn from several funds the department holds. That package includes roughly $900,000 to finish construction and construction engineering for the Mayflower (Ardmore) bridge project, funds for minor bridge repairs and guardrail replacement, and allocations for the 2025 paving program in both mainline and subdivision packages.

Madder warned members that the state Community Crossings program has been constrained by House Bill 1461, reducing annual awards county applicants once relied upon. “They were giving out close to $300,000,000 a year. That has now been cut to $100,000,000 a year,” Madder said, adding the county could no longer count on previous grant levels when planning long-term pavement programs.

Committee members pressed Madder for estimated paving costs and current system condition. Madder said the county's pavement condition index averaged about 3.6 and that current budgets allow paving roughly 12 to 15 centerline miles per year; staff estimated subdivision paving at a little over $1 million and mainline paving about $3.5 to $4 million in the current program year. Madder recommended using preservation treatments such as chip sealing where appropriate to extend pavement life.

The committee also approved an appropriation of $39,250 from the surveyor's section-corner fund to replace an aging rover and data-collection kit used by both the surveyor's office and IPG staff. Madder said the replacement will allow one-person survey operations that previously required two staffers.

Why it matters: The appropriations support scheduled construction and maintenance work, but officials said lower state grant availability will require local planning and alternative pavement treatments to manage a backlog of roads.

What's next: The items were sent favorably to the full council for final approval.