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APC progress report: CityBus performance funds, contract rules and project delays highlighted
Summary
At a Tippecanoe County APC meeting, staff reported CityBus earned most performance-based federal incentives, all FY2025 federal funds have been obligated, the State Board of Accounts issued new LPA contract requirements, and several road and bridge projects faced bid shortfalls or environmental review delays.
Doug, an APC staff member, briefed the Tippecanoe County Area Plan Commission on federal funding, contract requirements and project schedules during the APC progress report.
Doug said CityBus qualified for extra federal funds tied to performance measures and that “if they hit 1 performance measure, they receive, just a pinch over a half million dollars each.” He said CityBus met five of six performance measures for the most recent Federal Transit Administration (FTA) reporting year; last year CityBus met all six.
Doug also reported that the State Board of Accounts now requires Local Public Agency (LPA) contracts to show the same dollar amount the TIP (transportation improvement program) shows for preliminary engineering, right-of-way and construction engineering phases. Doug said, “the State Board of Accounts wants the number in the LPA contract to match what we show in the [TIP].” He warned that updating contract amounts can take time because several agencies must update their contracts when TIP programming changes.
On compliance items, Doug said INDOT had asked that ADA/Title VI information be submitted before INDOT would issue a DES number for new projects. He reported that West Lafayette’s submission was approved but Lafayette’s had not cleared INDOT yet.
Doug told the APC that all federal funds for fiscal year 2025 shown in the APC packet have been obligated, leaving essentially zero balances; he noted an 8-cent discrepancy in one line item.
On project-specific items in the 18-month letting list, Doug and other staff discussed several schedules and bid issues:
- State Road 225 reconstruction (two bridges): bids came in above the engineer’s estimate; the project was moved to fiscal year 2026 to regroup. Bill confirmed, “We had to move to FY '26 funding.” - An I‑65 small-structure project had two bids, both above the engineer’s estimate; the low bid was about $1,800,000 compared with $900,000 shown in the TIP for construction. - North Ninth Street projects: an environmental approval had been delayed but was submitted and under review; staff hoped for approval in December to keep the letting date rather than move it to January. - County bridge inspections: staff noted the county bridge-inspection contract was added to the draft FY26 TIP and updated in the FY24 TIP via modification; an RFP for the next contract will publish soon.
Staff also discussed finished and ongoing work on Morehouse Phase 1 and Phase 2, Bridge Nos. 64, 527, 80 and 83, and the North River Road project; the Morehouse Phase 1 punch list was reportedly complete and the contractor was close to final record submission. Evonik agreed to donate land needed to phase a paired bridge project to keep the road open during work.
APC members raised capacity concerns within Federal Highway administrative review staff, which could slow environmental reviews. One APC member said FHWA staff are “down to 2 people, and neither of those people are experienced in environmental,” which staff identified as a likely cause of extended reviews.
Staff warned that INDOT is increasingly using pavement patching to maintain aging interstate concrete, especially on I‑65 and portions of SR 74, because original pavement is nearing the end of its service life.
No formal votes or policy changes were taken; the briefing was informational and included follow-up commitments to monitor environmental approvals and letting schedules.
